Apparently, a space heater within the home had caused a small fire. While attempting to douse the fire, it spread out of control and she was unable to contain it. We believe she suffered a heart attack and collapsed as she exited the home. There was some burn trauma to the patient, however it was limited to the lower half of her body.

While her son is an Alcor member and her former husband has already been cryopreserved, she had not actively signed up for membership during her lifetime. Upon learning of the incident, the son wanted to provide his mother with one final gift, and immediately began to pursue signing her up through a third party membership. This requires Alcor Board approval and has to meet specific requirements before a vote is taken to grant the request. While this process takes some time to complete, it was handled on an emergency basis to prevent unnecessary delays. Another obstacle to overcome, due to the legal implications of her death, was the medical examiner is required to ensure that no foul play had been involved. The son persuaded the medical examiner to limit the scope of the autopsy to an external Commuted Tomography (CT) scan of the brain. This satisfied the legal requirements of the county while maintaining the structural integrity of the patient’s brain.

In anticipation of being granted authority to receive the patient, Alcor deployed Transport Coordinator Aaron Drake along with the equipment needed to prepare and transport her back to Alcor. Since that county's medical examiner completes his work at the various funeral homes, rather than at one central location, the patient was maintained at a temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the process, thus limiting the amount of ischemia that occurs in comparison to a normothermic environment. As there were no major airports near the rural community that could handle large cargo, the decision was made to drive the individual back to Alcor. Although the legal process was expedited, it became clear that enough time had elapsed that a straight freeze was the only option remaining, due to accumulating blood coagulation and loss of vascular integrity. Once final approval was given, the patient was packaged in dry ice and transported to Scottsdale, AZ.

Member A-2469 is now our 90th patient. A full case report will be issued.

Watch List
There are currently seven members on Alcor's "Orange Alert" watch list. This list is comprised of members who are diagnosed with a terminal condition; who are undergoing a non-elective surgical procedure; or whose health is severely compromised due to an underlying medical condition. Frequent communication with these members is essential.

This "partnership" in sharing medical information, between the member and Alcor, enables the Deployment Committee to better evaluate the seriousness of the condition and to determine the appropriate level of monitoring and/or action by Alcor.

Applicant
Alcor had 67 applicants for membership. Four (4) new applicants were added, seven (7) applicants were converted to members and one applicant was cancelled resulting in net loss of 4 applicants for this month.

Information Packets
Alcor received 220 information packets were requested this month, 14 were handed out during facility tours or from special request. The average total of 188 info packs sent per month in 2009 is compared to 173 in 2008.

A relative of his had become concerned with an absence of communication and requested assistance from local police to perform a welfare check. The family's worst fears were confirmed when authorities found the individual had passed away, possibly one or two days prior. As the family was aware and supportive of his desire to be cryopreserved, they notified Alcor. They also informed Alcor that police were taking the body to the medical examiner for an autopsy to be performed, due to the individual's relatively young age.

We attempted to contact the medical examiner's office to explain that he had donated his body to Alcor and that his release was a time sensitive matter. We asked that he be kept as cold as possible and explained that he did not want to be autopsied. We were informed that a full autopsy was likely to take place the next day, so we immediately began working with legal counsel in an attempt to avoid or limit the autopsy, especially with respect to the individual’s brain, and expedite release.

Alcor immediately sent Transport Coordinator Aaron Drake to Tampa to begin logistical preparations and to have a representative on site, if needed. The death was deemed suspicious and, after some consultation with the medical examiner's office, our legal counsel indicated the only way to avoid the autopsy was to obtain a court order. We proceeded to file our legal pleading and an expedited hearing was held the next week. While the legal proceedings took longer than preferred, our member was kept very cold through the duration. In the end, the medical examiner's office fulfilled the legal obligations of their office by performing only a limited autopsy that did not include the brain, releasing the patient to Alcor thereafter.

Suspended Animation relieved Aaron in Florida, so he could conduct the previously scheduled Southern California team training, and assisted in the preparation and shipping of our patient to Alcor in Scottsdale, AZ. Member A-2219 is now our 89th patient. A full case report will be issued.

Please join them at Carafe Bistro (http://www.carafebistro.com/) in downtown Portland at 7:30 p.m. for wine, fantastic food, and, of course, enjoyable company and conversation.

Due to the location of this event, an accurate headcount is absolutely necessary for our reservation, so PLEASE RSVP as soon as possible! Email Chana de Wolf at chana.de.wolf@gmail.com or call her at 503-756-0864 and let her know how many will be in your group.

Readiness Kits and Supplies
All new supply kits were shipped to the Southern California Regional Response Team for their December 12th and 13th team training.

The remainder of the readiness supplies have been ordered, received and now sent to the Texas and Northern California teams to complete their response kits. Coupled with each Regional Response Team's training sessions will be the delivery of the team's new response kits. This will ensure consistency in preparedness. Each team will have identical kits and be similarly trained.

Recent Pet Cryopreservation
At the beginning of the month, we performed a pet cryopreservation (P-040) for an Alcor member. The pet was hand-delivered by its owner, who drove from Texas to Arizona.

Applicant
Alcor had 71 applicants for membership. Six (6) new applicants were added, four (4) applicants were converted to members and no applicants were cancelled resulting in a net gain of two (2) applicants for this month.

Info Pack
Alcor received 324 info pack requests. Seven (7) were handed out during facility tours or from special request. The average total of 182 info packs sent per month in 2009 is compared to 173 in 2008.

One of the primary ways our members support the organization is through the payment of membership dues. Alcor charges membership dues to support the advancement of its programs and to help defray the costs of equipment and supplies, administrative expenses, professional services, and other similar expenses. Alcor’s last dues increase was eight years ago, in 2002. Since then, the CPI-U (a frequently cited measure of inflation) has increased by nearly 20%. Alcor's expense budget has accommodated this significant increase in general cost levels without any corresponding increase in revenue from member dues.

In light of this, and considering the need to address Alcor's current operating budget deficit, the Alcor board of directors approved a 20% dues increase effective January 2010. Comprehensive Member Standby charges and Life Member dues remain unchanged.

See our updated fee schedule (III. Membership Dues), which will apply as of January 2010.

To read more about "Southern California Transport Team Training & CryoFeast"

Team Training
The Northern California Response Team training was held on October 10th and 11th. John Schloendorn and Eri Gentry graciously provided their home in Mountain View, California to host and participate in the meeting. Eleven (11) people attended the training session which also included members that have previously participated in case work and new team members becoming acquainted with our process for the very first time. The team received all brand new equipment and supplies. The training was conducted by Aaron Drake and Eric Vogt.

Rescue Vehicle
Alcor's newly remodeled Rescue Vehicle (RV) is back in service! Steve Graber has completed the design, fabrication and remodeling phases of the project and all of the equipment and supplies have been reloaded and the vehicle is ready to respond.

Applicant
Alcor has 69 applicants for membership. Eleven (11) new applicants were added, four (4) applicants were converted to members and no applicants were cancelled resulting in net gain of 7 applicants for this month.

Info Pack
Alcor received 324 info pack requests. Seven (7) were handed out during facility tours or from special request. The average total of 182 info packs sent per month in 2009 is compared to 173 in 2008.