Compare the services of leading providers and make an informed choice!
If you’re considering cryonics aka human cryopreservation, you probably already know that there are different providers out there. Their services differ in many aspects: brain or whole-body preservation, prices, SST services, storage location etc. In this article, we analyze three main cryonics providers: Tomorrow Bio (us), Cryonics Institute and Alcor. Find out all pros and cons and make an informed decision on which provider is best for you!
Tomorrow Bio is the newest biostasis provider in the market - more specifically in Europe. Founded in 2019 in Berlin by Dr. Emil Kendziorra and Fernando Azevedo Pinheiro, we’re planning to revolutionize the biostasis world - starting with its own vocabulary. In fact, we promote the term “biostasis” to describe our service. This is a natural ability that allows several organisms to tolerate environmental changes without having to actively react to them. Human cryopreservation is the result of putting people in biostasis at cryogenic temperatures. The word “cryonics'', often misused by the media, has acquired some negative connotations. It’s time to offer an alternative to this term and remind people what this innovative future medical technology is really abou.
In its first year, Tomorrow Bio reached about 130 members - achieving the fastest growth this field has ever seen. After 2 years, we have doubled that number to almost 300 members. Our sign up process is fast and 100% online. Since our members are mostly young and healthy (the average age around 36 years old), none of them has been cryopreserved yet. Even so, we at Tomorrow Bio are more than ready!
How so? Our SST teams (Standby, Stabilization and Transportation), available to dispatch 24/7, are trained and fully-equipped to achieve the highest quality cryopreservation possible. The team members undergo constant re-training and certification, and regularly perform preservations as a service or support cases of non-members. Tomorrow Bio’s main SST is based in Berlin. A second standby team is available in Amsterdam through a partner, and a third one will soon be available in Switzerland. All teams are equipped with a specialized standby ambulance for field cryoprotection. In addition, they have portable equipment at their disposal in case they are sent to the patient's location by other means of transport (e.g. by plane).
Finally, the European Biostasis Foundation (EBF), Tomorrow Bio’s partner organization, recently inaugurated a brand-new research facility. This facility will take care of both long-term storage of Tomorrow Bio’s members, and advance the biostasis field through research.
Tomorrow Bio offers complete whole-body cryopreservation for 200.000€ and brain cryopreservation for 60.000€. The standby and long-term storage can be funded through monthly term life insurance, whole life insurance or alternative methods. After signing up, Tomorrow Bio’s members won’t have to worry about anything. In fact, the price covers all necessary steps:
The monthly membership fee is 25€. Find out more here.
The Cryonics Institute (CI) was founded on April 4, 1976 by none other than Robert Ettinger, the “father of cryonics''. Ettinger was cryopreserved in 2011 and has since then been stored in CI’s facility. Based in Michigan, USA, CI is a non-profit membership organization “made up of people seeking to pursue cryonics Prospect of Immortality”.
According to their statistics, CI:
- Has performed the most amount of human whole-body suspensions: 229
- Has performed the most amount of pet suspensions: 228
- Has the highest number of members (still alive): 1893
- Provides one of the most affordable whole-body suspension worldwide at $28,000
All these elements make the CI a valuable choice, especially for people located in Michigan and nearby vicinity. It’s important to note that transportation costs and auxiliary local help are not included in the total price and will have to be prepared by patients. Nevertheless, CI makes sure that members located elsewhere in the world will still be reached fast, thanks to networks of local mortuary assistance.
CI doesn’t have its own standby team but relies on a third party organization e.g. Suspended Animation, Inc. Having a centralized remote standby would raise the costs because of training and 24/7 readiness. As explained on the website, it’s not always the most suitable option.
Instead, we encourage members to plan and set up their own decentralized local resources. We think that the ultimate responsibility for standby relies to a certain degree with the individual member, since each member can assess his or her own individual circumstances.
CI offers a yearly or lifetime membership. Here the prices in detail.
Alcor Life Extension Foundation is the longest-operating cryonics company in the world. Founded in 1972, it recently celebrated its 50-year anniversary. The name “Alcor” comes from a star system that “had just the right brightness so it was used as a test for clear vision”.
Alcor has 200 cryopreserved patients and has 1393 members. Its first facility was based in Riverside, California. In 1994, the facility was moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. The latter area is more secure from natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards.
Alcor offers both brain and whole-body preservation. The former requires a minimum of $80,000, while the lattest starts from $200,000. In both cases, members are suggested to use life insurance, but can also choose alternative funding methods.
Alcor’s standby service is a hybrid between Tomorrow Bio and CIs. In fact, it does provide an internal standby team for people that are located close to the facility or that relocate to the area before legal death. If the patient is further away, Alcor collaborates with a third-party service that will take care of SST.
Alcor has a monthly membership fee of $55 and there is a discount for additional family members: $33/mo for each adult and $8/mo for children.
When selecting a provider, it’s very important that you first understand your specific case and preferences.
We recommend reading about each provider and deciding yourself which one best fits your needs. No provider one provider is superior to another. Some organizations may be better than others in specific cases. In other instances, more than one provider could be a good choice.
To make sure you have all the information you need, keep in mind that there are a few more providers you can choose between.
The Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute was established in 2015. Its purpose is to “research in cryogenic medical fields and life sciences such as cryopreservation, resuscitation and functions maintenance in tissues, organs and humans”. We don’t have any exact information about the type of service they offer or the exact cost.
Southern Cryonics is a brand-new storage facility located close to Sydney, Australia. Peter Tsolakides , its founder, director and chairman has been updating the worldwide cryonics community about his project at our annual Biostasis conference. Southern Cryonics dean’t have internal SST but collaborates with an Australian non-profit company called CryoPath, that offers SST services for an additional cost. The facility will be opened soon and will be able to store up to 40 patients. The facility is likely to expand in the next decades.
Southern Cryonics only offers whole-body suspension. The cost is $150,000 (that can be paid through life insurance or alternative funding method) plus a yearly subscription fee of about $350.
Hopefully this article gave you a good basic understanding of the providers and what they offer. The next step is to contact the ones that could work better for your specific case.
One of the most important things to consider when choosing a provider is their ability to provide you with fast response. The earlier the SST team can reach you and start the procedure, the better. Therefore, if you are located in the proximity one of the two US long-term storage facilities, you should probably consider Alcor and CI. If you are based in China, then Yinfeng is a good option. However, if you live in a different location, you need to consider the best option of SST besides choosing your cryonics provider. It’s important that you have everything arranged well before your legal death!
At Tomorrow Bio we offer all-inclusive human cryopreservation plans. This means that even if you don’t reside in Switzerland (where our long-term storage facility is), our SST teams will be dispatched to your location. Once you sign up, you won't have to worry about finding a third party. By having several teams available 24/7, we can cover all of Europe. In addition, we plan to expand in the years to come.
Now, a good way to decide if Tomorrow Bio is the provider your are looking for is by scheduling a call with one of our experts. Or join our Discord server, where you can meet and discuss with members of cryonics communities from around the world.
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