Cryonics, also called Biostasis or cryopreservation, is an experimental procedure in cases where current medical technology can not save a patient, e.g., terminal cancer. This procedure offers the opportunity to preserve the patient after legal death for the chance that future, advanced medical technology allows resuscitation and the continuation of the patient’s life.
At the time of legal pronouncement, a specialized cryopreservation team cools down the body as quickly as possible, supports the brain with oxygen, and replaces the blood and water in the body with a so-called cryoprotective agent to allow further cooling without freezing. The body is then placed in a long-term storage dewar at -196°C in liquid nitrogen at our cryopreservation facility in Switzerland. There is no degradation or aging, and once/if future technology advances enough, it might be possible to revive the patient.

Important: Cryopreservation is not a guarantee by any means. We can not yet say when of even if revival from cryostasis will be possible in the future. The only strong statement we are able and willing to make is that the probability is higher that with the alternatives, i.e., burial or cremation. Extensive informed consent is required before cryopreservation should or can be chosen.

Tomorrow.bio was founded in 2020 by Dr. Emil F. Kendziorra (a medical doctor) and Fernando Pinheiro (an engineer), and is the globally leading cryopreservation provider. Headquartered in the heart of Europe, Berlin, our mission is simple yet profound: to help people choose how long they want to live. Our vision is that this choice should not depend on where someone lives, their background, or financial resources.Cryonics, also called Biostasis or cryopreservation, is an experimental procedure in cases where current medical technology can not save a patient, e.g., terminal cancer. This procedure offers the opportunity to preserve the patient after legal death for the chance that future, advanced medical technology allows resuscitation and the continuation of the patient’s life.

Death doesn’t occur at the snap of a finger, it is a process. Modern civilization and medical advancements have made it increasingly routine to distinguish between legal, medical, and biological definitions of death,  which evolve as our knowledge progresses. Advancements like CPR led to the observation that what was once considered irreversible was, in fact, just a scientific discovery yet to be made. Now, death is viewed as a multi-stage process with many routes for intervention and treatment. This evolution caused cryonicists to develop the “information-theoretic” understanding of death:

Biostasis is based on the premise that there are no known biological laws or principles that fundamentally prevent the successful long-term preservation and eventual revival of human beings at cryogenic temperatures. Scientifically, cellular degradation and irreversible damage after death occur primarily due to biochemical processes, enzyme activity, and microbial decay. Rapid cooling and administration of cryoprotectants effectively halt these destructive biochemical and metabolical activities. Advancements in medical and biological sciences consistently demonstrate improved understanding and manipulation of cellular function, repair mechanisms, and revival of tissue viability following extreme preservation conditions (Humans have been doing this for decades, for instance, through the cryopreservation of sperm, human eggs and embryos). Modern vitrification methods have already demonstrated successful preservation and recovery of tissues and small biological systems. Therefore, with ongoing technological advancement, there is a strong scientific rationale supporting the feasibility of biostasis. Historically, medical interventions once deemed impossible have become routine practice due to technological and scientific advancements. For instance, several decades ago, the concept of heart transplantation was regarded with septicism, perceived as medically improbable or simply impossible. Today, heart transplants, as well as transplantation of other vital organs, are standard, widely accepted medical procedures that save thousands of lives annually. Similarly, while biostasis may currently face skepticism, it stands upon a scientifically plausible foundation. The barriers are primarily technical rather than biological, suggesting that with sufficient progress in nanotechnology, molecular repair, and regenerative medicine, revival from cryopreservation may eventually become not only possible but routine. A broad body of experimentation supports cryonics on a theoretical basis. There is no indication that it is scientifically impossible to resuscitate someone from preservation. Rather, science has just not yet advanced. This is why Tomorrow Biostasis and the EBF both lead and invest in the forefront of research, testing, and engineering to accelerate progress.

When organic matter is kept extremely cold, it can be preserved for very, very long periods of time. But there’s a problem with freezing an organism normally: Its cellular structure becomes vulnerable to severe damage through the formation of ice crystals inside the cells, leading to the potential destruction of the entire organism. We don’t freeze people, even though we keep them at incredibly low temperatures. Instead, we keep them preserved using a procedure called vitrification.

The graph above demonstrates these nuances further, and, combined with the quote, demonstrate the logic used by cryonicists to preserve the structure of the body - even though someone has already been declared dead.Clinical death, or the cessation of blood circulation and breathing, is the first step. It is potentially reversible by CPR. It is considered “the first step” - at this point, no neurological or physiological decay is present, and the body’s cellular tissue is still in a state of general functionality. Then comes legal and biological death - the time after which the body may still have some biological functions, but has endured a (currently) irreversible cessation of either circulatory and respiratory functions or all functions of the entire brain. Note that even a century ago, what is now understood as reversible would have then had the same label. The patient is then declared “legally” dead, and this is ideally the point at which SST Teams intervene to preserve the patient.