Cryonics is a chance for a dying person to extend their life into the future. To do this, after special procedures (), people are immersed in a low-temperature environment, where all chemical reactions practically stop. The first cryopatient, American professor James Bedford, has been stored for almost 50 years without any signs of change.

Properly done procedures and reliable storage give hope that in the future, using various technologies, it will be possible to restore the brain and body cells of cryopatients or replace them with similar, but healthy ones. In this case, from the point of view of modern science, the cryopatient will be resuscitated, he will come to life.

You can schedule all these procedures for yourself or your relative with the help of. We can quickly and efficiently cryopreserve a person, reliably preserve his body until the time when it becomes possible to revive cryopatients. We strive to restore our patients to a new life. This is our mission. You did the right thing by choosing to contact us. Cryonics is a chance for revitalization in the future.

Our offers

To save a person, his personality, it is necessary to save, first of all, his brain. It is in the human brain that all neurons and the connecting elements between them are stored. From the point of view of science, it is in the brain that a person’s memory and most of the information about his individual characteristics are stored.

You can order cryonics only of the human brain. It's called neuropreservation. It is also possible to cryopreserve the entire human body in KrioRus. Our proposals for these positions are covered more fully below.

Also, we recommend that you in advance while the future cryopatient is still in good health. It's essential improve the quality of cryonics, by reducing the time required for all organizational steps on the day of cryopreservation: persuading relatives, reaching agreements with doctors, ritual and other services, transportation time from the morgue to the operating room, etc. As a result, the viability of the stored patient cells will be much higher.

Whole body preservation

To some people, the preservation of a human brain or head seems somewhat unusual. For those who appreciate the habitual way of life, and also do not want to surprise relatives and friends, the preservation of the entire body of a cryopatient is more suitable. If you prefer to keep the human body completely, we are ready to do it for you.

All procedures for cryonics of the human body are essentially the same as for neurosaving, but due to specific features, perfusion and storage in this case become much more complicated, which increases the cost of the cryonics service. Therefore, the cost of preserving the body of a cryopatient is currently 36 000USD(or equivalent in rubles).

Approximately half of Russian cryopatients choose whole-body preservation. We have sufficient experience in this kind of services.

Neuropreservation

Neuropreservation is the preservation of only the human brain at ultra-low temperatures.

Neuropreservation is usually interested in people who are well acquainted with new technologies and technological and scientific forecasts. Neuropreservation is an option for those who understand that a person's personality - according to modern scientific views - is stored in his brain, and who expects that in the future a new body will be grown for a cryopatient as a collection of organs (for example, from the patient's own stem cells) or created artificial. In all these areas, active work is underway in research medical centers around the world.

In this case, we save the client's brain or head (at the request of the customer) after his death, performing the highest quality perfusion possible and ensuring maximum storage reliability. The patient's body after the perfusion procedure is buried or cremated, the cost of this may or may not be included in the price of the contract with the cryogenic company.

The cost of neuropreservation is 15,000 USD (or equivalent in rubles or other currency) for Russians and 18,000 USD for foreign clients.

The most recommended BASIC OPTION of payment is the full one-time payment of the Agreement upon its conclusion. This option gives the best guarantee cryoclients, as it gives the right to cryopreservation of a newly deceased person by his relatives or to cryopreservation of the client himself or his relative at any time in the event of death, whenever it occurs.

VIP cryopreservation

If you are a wealthy person, you can use the VIP option. To do this, you can make any sponsorship contribution from 150,000 USD and more.

Advantages:

1. You get a cryo-bracelet, this will allow you to track your vital activity. In the event of death, a rapid response team immediately leaves. This will make it possible to perform cryopreservation with the highest quality, ensuring the minimum time since biological death and the maximum safety of neurons.

2. You contribute to the development of cryonics in Russia and in the world. We will use your donation for scientific research that will bring you and your family closer to waking up from cryo-sleep and continuing to live a full and healthy life.

3. At your request, your name will forever be included in the list of Trustees of our organization on a special page on our website and on a special plate in the office of our organization.

4. If you deposit more than 400,000 USD, at your request, there is an on-call mode at no additional charge - see above. This maximizes the quality of cryo-preservation for you. Also, you receive a GOLD cryo-bracelet.

There is an opinion that someday the main value of mankind will be exclusively knowledge. The new world will need scientists, inventors, or rather, their talents. A non-standard idea was put forward by cryotechnologists, that is, those who freeze biological material at ultra-low temperatures. They proposed to collect the DNA of prominent contemporaries. So you can create a database and pass it on to descendants. But, today, anyone can freeze themselves for the future, in principle, for a conditionally adequate amount at the price of a used car. So far, only two and a half hundred people around the world have decided on this. Thirty of them are.

In our country, there is the only storage facility where they offer to freeze not only, but the whole organism as a whole. Cryogenic freezing is a long process and takes weeks. In a state of deep freezing, they are immersed very slowly so as not to harm the internal organs. First, they are replaced with a special composition that reduces damage to the body during freezing. When it takes on a bronze hue, it is sent to storage.

Before being sent to the general storage, where the temperature is almost minus two hundred degrees Celsius, the patient will be kept in a cryostat warmer, minus seventy-nine degrees Celsius. A few weeks later, the patient is transferred to a special container that looks like a huge cylindrical vessel. Here, a constant temperature is maintained by liquid nitrogen. Patients are positioned vertically in special bags like sleeping bags. They are suspended, tied with a rope that can withstand ultra-low temperatures. Under such conditions, the body can lie for hundreds and even thousands of years.

Cryotechnologists say that in the future, in order to bring a person back to life after defrosting, only him will be enough. After all, it is in it that memories and the personality itself are stored. And to build a body is already a matter of technique or client preferences. And what a person looked like is easy to find out. One cell of brain DNA is taken and analyzed. Then organs are cloned. In each of our cells, all parameters are clearly spelled out.

So far, everyone who has decided to acquire immortality is signed a contract for a hundred years. If, by that time, no way is invented to revive a person after defrosting, then the contract is automatically extended until new scientific discoveries.

The liquid nitrogen that is added to the vessel gradually boils away and has to be replenished in order to maintain the desired temperature in this refrigerated hostel. But there are plans to make the process autonomous. The cold generation system will operate on solar panels, which means it will not stop serving, even if there is no one to monitor it. Cryotechnologists are sure that such storages can become not just an opportunity for a few, but a whole step towards salvation for all of humanity. For example, hard times or the end of the world can simply be slept through in them.

Today in the world there is a project of mass cryopreservation, however, so far only animals. Its authors, scientists at the British University in Nottingham, believe that this is the only way to save many species. They named the vault "The Frozen Ark". It contains the DNA of rare endangered or extinct species. Having, it will be possible to clone animals that are no longer found on Earth. Moreover, there is such an experience. In 2009, Spanish geneticists recreated the Pyrenean ibex, which had died out at the beginning of the century.

Cryogenic freezing is something out of the realm of fantasy. At least that's how it might have seemed a couple of decades ago. Now, many are seriously interested in the question of whether it will be possible to freeze oneself at one moment, and then “order” awakening in the future? And since this topic is interesting and relevant, it is worth trying to find the answer.

Terminology

It is worth starting with a consideration of such a concept as cryonics. It comes from the Greek word κρύος, which translates as "frost" or "cold". This is a technology that makes it possible to keep animals and people in a state of deep cooling. They do this in the hope that in the future they will be able to revive and even cure.

However, to date, cryogenic freezing of people, as well as large animals, cannot be reversible. This means that once "preserved" them, in the future it will not be possible to revive them. The same goes for the frozen brain and head. Why? Because the cryogenic freezing of a person occurs only after his legally recorded death. Otherwise, it would be considered murder.

But why then all this? The fact is that some scientists believe that theoretically is not final. And they hope that one day technology will reach a level of development that will allow such frozen people to be revived.

Many actively support this idea. In 2016, an open letter in support of cryonics was drafted and signed by 69 scientists from around the world. But the very hypothesis concerning the possible restoration of information contained in the brain after death is considered unprovable.

Evidence of Probability

Of course, no one would argue that cryogenic freezing of a person is possible without strong evidence.

In 1966, for example, it was possible to prove that the brain restores electrical activity after freezing to -20 °C. In 1974, an experiment was conducted, during which the gray matter partially restored its activity after 7 years of storage under appropriate conditions.

In 1984, it was proved that large organs do not undergo structural damage during freezing. And in 1986, scientists found that large mammals can be brought back to life if they stay in a state of clinical death for three hours at a temperature of -3 ° C.

In 2002, an experiment was conducted, during which it turned out that the brain retains memory, even if it is cooled to -10 ° C. In 2004, doctors performed a successful kidney transplant after freezing them at -45°C and then warming them up.

The next experiment, conducted in 2006, proved that complex neural connections retain their vital activity even during vitrification (transition of a liquid into a glassy state).

In 2015, the world learned that the animal, subjected to freezing and rebirth, has not lost its memory. In the same year, they conducted an experiment on cryonics and restoration of the whole brain of a mammal. The researchers assured: everything went perfectly.

How do they think in our country?

Cryogenic in Russia is perceived by many as a fraud. This was repeatedly stated by the chairman of the commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences, dealing with the fight against falsification of research and pseudoscience. Freezing is considered by many to be a commercial venture that has no scientific justification, as well as a fantasy that speculates on people's hopes and dreams of eternal life.

But at the same time, there are supporters. They say that now, of course, there are doubts about this, but in 30-50 years such opportunities may open up, thanks to which it will really be possible to restore a person from a frozen state. And by the way, about 15% of Russians would not be against cryonics for themselves or their relatives - this was found out thanks to a survey conducted by the Levada Center.

KrioRus

12 years ago, a company called KrioRus was formed in Russia. Their activity is cryogenic freezing. That is, the storage of the bodies of their deceased "patients" in liquid nitrogen. Moreover, the company offers freezing of both the whole body and only the head.

By the way, KrioRus is the only organization in Russia that freezes pets. To date, three birds (including a goldfinch and a titmouse), 2 cats, 6 cats, 7 dogs and 1 chinchilla are waiting for their future in their vault. You need to love your pet very much to decide on this. Because cryogenically freezing an ordinary cat costs $12,000.

The same price is set for the preservation of the human brain. Freezing the entire body costs $36,000. The so-called VIP-freeze is also available at the Issue price - from $ 150,000. Of the advantages - a cryo-bracelet, thanks to which a person's vital activity can be tracked. In the event of a death, a rapid response team is dispatched to the scene. There are still some "advantages" (if it is appropriate to say so in this context), but they can be found on an individual basis.

Training

Cryogenic freezing of the body is very difficult, which is logical. Therefore, preparation is extremely important, which involves the manufacture of special solutions. If there is already a ready-made concentrate, then it will be possible to make 32 liters from it, which are necessary for cryonics of the head.

When the solution is ready, it is passed through vacuum sterilization, which is carried out using special filters. Since cryogenic freezing is not very popular in Russia so far, all liquid substances are frozen until they are needed. When the "patient" appears, the solution is thawed and the procedure begins.

Next stage

The first thing they do with the human body after death is to cool it down to 0 °C. This is so important that if the "client" turned to the specialists in advance, he is advised to prepare ice packs. After all, immediately after the heart of a person stops, the destruction of his body begins. All processes that were previously responsible for maintaining life stop their work. And either ice or a coolant of chemical origin can stop the destruction of the body.

After that, specialists get access to the circulatory system. This is usually done by either a pathologist or a surgeon. Or a specialist of a company that provides such a service as cryogenic freezing.

The photos that are publicly available today show that the procedure is very similar to a conventional therapeutic operation. In its course, specialists gain access to the carotid artery. This is where the second stage ends and the last - the most important - begins.

Connecting the Perfusion System

After all the previously described steps, special tubes are inserted into the arteries and veins of the body. With their help, blood is excreted from the body. And the body is filled with the solution. To control the process, use an instrument such as a refractometer. With its help, it is possible to identify the percentage of concentration of the solution in the container (which in this case is the body).

60% - this is exactly the degree of saturation established by experts. As soon as this indicator is reached, the procedure is completed. The blood is completely replaced by solutions. Even the smallest part of it should not be allowed to remain in the body. Because in this case, the processes of change will accelerate.

Here, however, is the whole answer to the question of how cryogenic freezing occurs. The body is then placed in storage. The operation itself lasts approximately 4 hours, 6 specialists work on the patient, including 2 surgeons and 4 assistants.

procedure alive

Many are keenly interested in the question: "Is it possible to cryogenically freeze a living person, and not a dead person?" Well, one thing can be said with certainty: at the moment it is not practiced. At the beginning of the article it was already said that such a procedure is tantamount to murder. But there is more information.

Many may think, they say, yes, revival is possible if a living person were subjected to freezing. However, this procedure is carried out with a dead body! Doesn't this seem strange?

The experts have the answer. They assure that there is no fundamental difference between the living and the dead in this context. At the initial stage, for sure. Because any person within 15 minutes after death is considered, in principle, alive - with the help of modern technologies it can be brought back to life. And statements that irreversible changes begin to occur in the brain are a myth. In any case, specialists from cryocenters cite rebuttals in the form of complex scientific theories. But still, for now, freezing a living person is impossible.

The youngest patient

In 2015, perhaps the most unusual cryogenic freezing of a person was carried out. A photo of the "patient" is provided below. This is a 2-year-old girl from Thailand named Matherin Naowaratpong. She is the youngest person ever to undergo such specific "preservation".

The baby died two years ago, 01/08/2015. The cause was a brain tumor. 12 operations, 40 sessions of chemical and radiation therapy did not help. But her parents, having frozen the body and brain of the girl (80% of the left hemisphere of which she had lost by the time of death), firmly believe that Maternal will someday be brought back to life. The entire procedure cost her parents $280,000 + $700 annually for storage.

Non-standard fraud

In 2009, a very interesting incident happened. Although the news sounded very ordinary: a fraudster from New York deceived investors in the amount of $ 5 million.

But here's the point. This man, whose name is Vileon Chey, somehow managed to convince investors that he was investing the money allocated to him in profitable foreign exchange funds, precious metals and oil. However, he spent $150,000 to freeze the body of his wife, who also died in 2009, and the rest to hide. He was never found.

An example of amazing enthusiasm

The photo below is of a 23-year-old neuroscience student named Kim Suozzi. In the early 2010s, she was diagnosed with a terrible diagnosis - brain cancer. What did the girl do? She turned to social networks for help. Having told her story, she began to raise money in order to freeze herself - until a cure for cancer or methods of one hundred percent treatment of this disease is found.

The campaign was a success. The girl was helped to raise a huge amount - many futurists and even the Venturizm society participated in this. On January 17, 2013, Kim fell into a state of clinical death. On the same day, her body was cryopreserved.

Mass cryopreservation project

He exists. But so far this project concerns only animals. What is the point? In realizing the prospects for the conservation of many species of animals. Even the vault, created specifically for this, was decided to be called the "Frozen Ark". There are DNA of those animals that are already extinct or are on the verge. Scientists believe that thanks to the genetic material and modern technologies, it will be possible to clone non-existent species. And it seems real, because in 2009 a successful experiment was conducted.

Spanish scientists organized the most difficult experiment, as a result of which a cub of the Pyrenean ibex was born! But this species completely disappeared in 2000. The DNA of the last deceased mammal was preserved - it was transferred into the egg of a domestic goat, devoid of its own genetic material. The embryo was then transplanted into a female of another subspecies of the Spanish ibex. 439 such procedures were performed. Of these, only 7 ended in pregnancy, and one - in childbirth. But the goat turned out to be sick and died after 7 minutes due to breathing problems. And yet, scientists do not lose hope and continue to improve their approaches and technologies.

What are the prospects?

Experts who know how cryogenic freezing works and continue to develop this area love to share their assumptions regarding the role of this procedure in the near future.

They are sure that in order to restore a person as a person, only his brain will be needed. Because it is a repository of memories, skills and knowledge. As for body modeling, this is a matter of technique and the wishes of the person himself. And to find out what the "client" looked like, it will be enough just one DNA cell taken from the brain. Specialists will analyze it, reveal the appearance of a person, clone organs and bring the person back to life. But all this is just speculation about the probable future. So far, a 100-year contract has been signed with frozen patients. But if until that moment a method of revival is not invented, then the contract will be automatically extended until the times when it will be possible.

In general, cryotechnologists are confident that there are prospects. Perhaps this procedure is a step towards eventual immortality. But how it will be in reality - time will tell.

Cryonics is a low odds game with a huge jackpot. By conserving their bodies in liquid nitrogen, cryonauts hope to be resurrected by technologies of the distant future. However, high-quality conservation with an eye to the future requires the use of very advanced technologies of the present, which were told to us by the specialists of the KrioRus company.

Sergey Apresov

Journalistic ethics requires that articles on controversial topics always have more than one point of view. Cryonics is one of the most controversial areas of practice, in which many flatly refuse to recognize science. Therefore, in order to fulfill our professional duty, let's start with the skeptical part.

The possibility of reviving a frozen person using future technologies cannot be 100% guaranteed. No self-respecting cryonics firm would sign a promise to revive a patient after a certain number of years. Both cryonics research and the cryonics body preservation business rely on the belief that today's most promising technologies will be well developed. We are talking about growing organs and creating their artificial counterparts, about nanotechnologies in medicine, about modeling consciousness. Such a position gives enough room for skepticism, so finding critical remarks about cryonics will not be the slightest difficulty.

The cryoprotectant solution is pumped into the carotid artery and exits through the jugular vein. The perfusion process in neuroconservation takes about two hours. At the same time, the patient's body is cooled and put into hypothermia. In the photo - a demonstration mannequin.

However, not all skeptics know how difficult it is to save the body without damaging it, and what advanced technologies are behind this process. Quite tangible achievements of today are associated with these methods, such as sperm storage with the possibility of fertilization 20 years after conservation or freezing of human embryos ranging in size from several tens to several hundred cells and then returning to life.

1. The medical roller perfusion pump allows precise control of the fluid flow rate. Exceeding the allowable pressure can lead to damage to the vessels.

These advances alone make us take the promise of cryobiology seriously. Danila Medvedev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KrioRus, told us about them.

Process, not result

In order to think about the temporary suspension and subsequent restoration of life, a deep understanding of death is necessary. The understanding that dying is not a one-time event, but a process extended over time, consisting of several stages, made it possible for many patients to return to life after clinical death as a result of resuscitation procedures.

2. The pressure gauge helps professionals to constantly monitor the pressure in the circulatory system. A sharp jump in pressure indicates the presence of a blood clot or other damage that can be quickly repaired.

Actually clinical death is characterized by cardiac arrest, cessation of breathing, the disappearance of external signs of life. In the absence of blood circulation, oxygen ceases to flow to the cells of tissues and organs. Unfortunately, the most sensitive to anoxia (lack of oxygen) are the cells of the central nervous system, in particular the cerebral cortex and subcortical structures.

When diagnosing clinical death, doctors, as a rule, have only a few minutes left in order to carry out resuscitation. However, in some cases, the duration of clinical death can increase to several tens of minutes. One of these cases is hypothermia, a decrease in body temperature (usually up to 20-25 ° C), which slows down biological processes. Hypothermia is used in surgery for some operations that require cardiac arrest.

3. Using a syringe, samples of the solution are taken from the jugular vein. When the concentration of the sample coincides with the concentration of the supplied solution, it is considered that the cells have become saturated with the cryoprotectant.

Upon termination of the bioelectrical activity of the brain, brain death is ascertained. Resuscitation measures are stopped, and the person is declared dead, including from a legal point of view. What happens in the cells of organs, tissues and brain at this moment?

Different tissues exhibit varying degrees of resistance to anoxia. The heart can last up to two hours after biological death, the kidneys and liver - up to four hours, the muscles and skin - up to six, and the bones - up to several days. The brain has the smallest margin of safety, but its cells do not die at the same time, all at once.

4. The cryoprotectant solution is prepared in several concentrations. First, the least concentrated solution is supplied, then, as it becomes saturated, the more concentrated one.

The cell is a biological mechanism that constantly consumes energy generated by oxidative processes. With the cessation of energy supply, the cell ceases to recover and respond to external stimuli. The permeability of the plasma membrane is gradually disturbed, the concentration of ions changes, the organelles swell and their membranes rupture.

It turns out that for some time after biological death, many brain cells remain alive, and some die, but retain most of their structural elements. In fact, all cryonics is based on the assumption that the most careful preservation of the physical structure of the brain will allow the patient's personality to be transferred into the future.

5. A refractometer is an optical instrument that measures the refractive index of a solution. The refractive index can be used to judge the concentration of a solution. Using the device, the concentration is measured during the preparation of the solution and when taking samples from the jugular vein.

It is quite logical to believe that a person's personality is determined by his memories - more precisely, the contents of long-term memory. It is known that the processes of thinking and remembering are determined by connections between individual neurons, sometimes very far from each other. In 2009, the US National Institutes of Health launched the Human Connectome project (similar to the genome), aimed at mapping neuronal connections.

The main theories of memory somehow imply that the formation of these connections depends on changes in the physical structures of the brain. The synaptic theory assumes that during memorization, the conductivity of the synapse (the contact between two neurons) changes. This is due to the activation of additional protein receptors, a change in the chemical characteristics of the synaptic membrane, and even an increase in the diameter of the synapse. Biochemical theories claim that proteins, peptides, DNA or RNA can be carriers of long-term memory.

1. The cryo-depository near Sergiev Posad is not the only storage facility of KrioRus. Two dewars contain 13 cryopatients stored using full-body technology (full body), and a dozen and a half clients on neurostorage.

Cryonicists do not promise to keep the brain in its original form, without the slightest damage. But medical practice suggests that traumatic brain injuries do not always lead to memory loss. In addition, there is hope that in the future nanomedicine will allow to repair slightly damaged cells, bringing them back to life.

A glazed memory

Among scientists experimenting with freezing organisms in order to extend life, there are many well-known names: what are only Anthony van Leeuwenhoek and Robert Boyle. However, until the first half of the last century, these attempts remained unsuccessful. Unfortunately, cold destroys cells.

The main danger arises at the moment of freezing of extracellular water, which leads to cell dehydration. With the formation of ice, the amount of free water decreases, so the concentration of substances dissolved in this water increases. Osmotic pressure is formed, which removes water from the cells through the membrane, ultimately leading to a violation of the structure of proteins.

2. The flags hanging from the ceiling represent some of the countries whose patients entrusted their fate to KrioRus. Among them are the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, USA, Israel, Estonia, Ukraine.

The formation of intracellular ice is also possible. In the water contained inside the cell, salts are dissolved, which prevent the complete transformation of water into ice up to temperatures close to -40°C. Thanks to this protective property, the cytoplasm remains liquid even in severe frosts. However, when approaching the critical temperature, the water nevertheless crystallizes, destroying the cell.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Swede Lindforss and the Russian botanist Maximov conducted successful experiments on freezing fragments of living tissues using glycerin. Cryoprotectants were discovered - substances that prevent the formation of ice and protect the cell from destruction during cooling. Penetrating cryoprotectants capable of passing through the cell membrane include glycerol, dimethyl sulfoxide, ethylene glycol and a number of other substances. Modern formulations include additional components that allow them to penetrate the blood-brain barrier that separates the circulatory and central nervous systems and prevents toxins from entering the brain from the blood.

3. A container filled with dry ice serves as a temporary shelter for cryopatients before being placed in a dewar.

Cryoprotectors replace intracellular water, and also bind the remaining water, preventing the formation of crystallization centers. At temperatures below -130 ° C, vitrification occurs, or glass formation: the transition of the solution to an amorphous state. In this "glass" the spatial structures of protein macromolecules are frozen, which is important for the preservation of memory.

A matter of technology

When ascertaining biological death, it is important to cool the cryopatient as soon as possible to a state of deep hypothermia (several degrees above zero) in order to slow down biochemical processes, including cell necrosis. At the same time, perfusion is started - saturation of cells with a cryoprotectant solution through the circulatory system.

4. The vacuum system of the Dewar vessels is practically hermetic. To maintain the required pressure between the walls, the pump is turned on at intervals of about twice a month.

The solution in several stages, with a gradual increase in concentration, is pumped through the carotid artery, replacing the blood. Specialists monitor the pressure of the solution: exceeding the permissible level will damage the blood vessels, and a sharp jump in pressure will indicate a blood clot that can be eliminated. After filling the vasculature, the solution exits through the jugular vein. The concentration of the solution at the outlet indicates the degree of completion of the process: if it is the same as at the inlet, then saturation has already occurred.

Perfusion of the head takes about two hours, saturation of the body can take four to six hours. “Most patients already understand that the most promising technology is neuropreservation, that is, conservation of only the head,” says staunch transhumanist Danila Medvedev. - On the one hand, this procedure is much faster and therefore gives more chances to preserve the structure of the brain, memory, personality. On the other hand, already the current level of technology development allows us to judge that the medicine of the future will allow creating a new body for the patient, instead of restoring the old and sick.”

The concept of death has changed over time. According to the expectations of cryonicists, it will change in the future: “information death” will be considered final, after which it will be impossible to restore data about the characteristics of the organism in order to partially or completely recreate it anew. One of the most striking experiments was conducted by resuscitators from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. They plunged the dogs into a state of clinical death for three full hours, after which they returned them to a full life. The blood was completely drained from the test subjects, replacing it with a chilled saline solution saturated with oxygen and glucose. The dogs' hearts stopped and the electrical activity of the brain disappeared. Three hours later, the scientists returned the blood to the animals, warmed them up and started their hearts with a defibrillator. Some dogs died, but most returned to normal life. Research in this direction attracted close attention, and then funding from DARPA. In the future, life-suspension technology will help save people, such as critical patients who are away from the clinic and need long-term transportation, or soldiers on the battlefield who are dying from blood loss.

Upon completion of perfusion, the cryopatient is transported to storage in a container with dry ice and immersed in liquid nitrogen for long-term storage at -196°C. To date, this is the most reliable method of conservation, which does not require constant attention and the presence of electricity.

Dewars of the Cryo-Rus cryo-depository are two-layer composite tanks. The space between the outer and inner walls of the dewar (20–30 cm) is filled with perlite (volcanic rock), air is pumped out of it. The vacuum between the walls is maintained by a pump, which is turned on approximately once every two weeks. Approximately once a month, liquid nitrogen is added to the dewar (about a centimeter in level). In the future, it is planned to create a closed system, including a machine for liquefying evaporating nitrogen and an independent solar-powered power plant. “There are reasons why it is better to store patients at -130 rather than -196°C. We are already developing a device for storage in a gaseous environment (like in a refrigerator) with a computer-controlled system and metered supply of liquid nitrogen,” Danila Medvedev shares his plans.

In addition to the Russian company KrioRus, there are two companies in the world that have their own cryostorage facilities. These are the Alcor Life Extention Foundation (USA, Arizona) and the Cryonics Institute (USA, Michigan). Storage facilities are expected to open in Switzerland and China in the near future.

Quantity into quality

Today there are three cryogenic firms in the world with their own storages: two in the USA and one in Russia. The number of cryopatients is approaching the mark of 300 people, of which 41 have been preserved in our country.

If we recognize the chances of a “resurrection” as non-zero, then their increase directly depends on the spread of the idea of ​​cryonics, its integration into the scientific process, cultural context, and legal norms. For example, the introduction of cryonics into clinical practice will make it possible to immerse a patient in hypothermia and start perfusion immediately after the onset of biological death, which will significantly increase the chances of preserving the brain structure. The development of the legal framework, in particular the introduction of liability for disruption of the cryo-depository, will help patients survive until the long-awaited breakthrough in medicine. Finally, elementary education will make it possible to avoid situations where relatives interfere with the will of people who want to be cryopreserved.

Currently, Krio-Rus is assisting in the construction of a cryo-depository in Switzerland, and is also participating in the development of a giant storage facility in China with the direct assistance of the state. Together with the unquenchable interest in related scientific and practical fields, such as transplantology, embryology, resuscitation and nanotechnology, this gives hope that the first cryopatients, if they do not gain eternal life, will at least serve science.

Remember the action movie The Destroyer, where a police officer played by Stallone is subjected to cryogenic freezing along with a criminal, and after 36 years they are both thawed? So, cryo-freezing is no longer a fantasy: the bodies of 11 people and two dogs are stored in a cryo-storage near Moscow at minus 200C. But no one knows who and when will be able to revive them.

In the village of Alabushevo, Zelenograd near Moscow, there is an outwardly unremarkable hangar. This is the only cryostorage facility in Russia owned by the KrioRus company. Inside the hangar there is a cryostat - a huge white Dewar flask, where under a heavy lid in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of minus 200 degrees Celsius, frozen bodies and heads await resurrection. For a rather illusory hope for a future revival, their relatives and friends paid in advance - 30 thousand dollars for the body and 10 thousand dollars for the head. Storing frozen pets costs less - five thousand dollars. All of them are called "patients" by Kriorus employees - as if they were alive.

An agreement for the storage of expensive bodies can be concluded right there - in a small shabby village house. General Director of KrioRus Danila Medvedev told photojournalist Sergei Mukhamedov about the prospects for revival and even allowed him to look inside the cryostat.

- Such a service is associated with huge costs, but you offer your services for a fixed fee: $ 10 thousand for the preservation of the head or brain and $ 30 thousand for the whole body. Will this amount be able to cover the maintenance of the body for a long time?

- The fact is that, basically, the costs are not for the costs of keeping the body in a chilled state, but for development. It is elementary to do repairs, purchase equipment, train people. And storage costs are relatively small.

- But if we are talking about long-term storage, and this may not be 50 or even 100 years, then this money is still not enough?

- Everything is simple here. We have calculations and different scenarios. If no one else comes, then we have one algorithm of actions and one cost structure. But there is another scenario in which the number of customers remains the same as it is now and even grows a little - for now, we stick to just such a scenario.

It's not really a pyramid. We can pay out of our own pocket for a long time<содержание>the patients we already have. But<их родным необходимо сразу заплатить>a fixed amount, otherwise they can then at any time say: “You know, we ran out of money.”

So<наша позиция>- you need to take the entire amount and say: "We received the money and take all the responsibility and expenses." In addition, we have our own relatives cryonized here: I have a grandmother, the director has a mother, as well as friends, relatives of friends. So we can pay our nitrogen bills ourselves.

—How many frozen bodies do you currently have?

- In Russia, 15 people were cryonized - all with our participation, with the exception of two who were<крионированы до создания>KrioRus. Some are stored not with us, but with relatives, but we helped organize storage. We now have the bodies of four patients, as well as the cryonic brains of another seven people. In addition, we store the bodies of two animals.

—And if something happens - a fire or your premises will be taken away?

- No guarantees.

— So tomorrow you can disappear?

- Yes, and money bye-bye - and all hopes for revival too. We understand this and speak honestly about it: “If you want guarantees, then help us build everything well, invest $100 million in a cryogenic company, and it will become much more reliable.”

— You can still imagine a revival if a living person were cryonized, but you freeze corpses?...

- There is no fundamental difference between a living person and a corpse - at least at the initial stage. 15 minutes after death, any person, in principle, is still alive, unless, of course, he was crushed by a skating rink. With the help of existing technologies, any person can be revived 15 minutes after death.

— But after all in a brain there come irreversible changes?

- This is a fairy tale, a very common myth, apparently, this phrase was repeated too often to the population: "In five minutes, irreversible processes begin in the brain." I remember it myself, but it's not true. - Here Danila Medvedev begins to explain the theory, using the words "reperfusion shock", "apoptosis", "denaturation" and "perfusion".

— Okay, we've sorted out the body, but why cryopreserve the head separately?

- The brain is responsible for the personality, it can be transplanted into the body and sewn to everything else with the help of nanorobots. Head transplants and body growing are feasible even today. In the most final technology, this will be the transfer of consciousness into a computer, the so-called "download". If we can read the entire structure of the human brain and simulate it on a computer, we will get an analogue of a living person who will begin to think like the original. The copy will feel like the same person and will live indefinitely until the computer shuts down.

—The decision on cryonics is more often made by relatives, and not by the patient himself?

- About half the time.

“I wouldn’t want to suddenly realize after death that now I’m a living head with tubes in solution or a consciousness running around computer chips ...

- For this there is an expression of will in civil law, you can come to a notary or even say it orally to someone. If this declaration of will is known, then everything must be done according to it.

— And if the person did not say anything, and the relatives decided to cut off their heads and freeze them?

They have this right by law. If he didn't say anything, it means he didn't mind. The law on burial and funeral business says that this is determined either by a person during his lifetime, or by relatives or other legal representatives.

“Suppose, in a century or two, science will figure out how to revive cryopreserved people. To whom will you give the body, because then it will be difficult to find relatives?

- Our contract says: "The best way to return a person to functioning in the form of a living organism."

—And to whom will you entrust this "living organism"?

- The decision on who to entrust the revival of the body will most likely be made not by the organization, but by some entity.

—But we can’t know, maybe then shamans will rule or programmers ...

- We'll figure it out there.

- TO What does a person frozen in nitrogen look like?

- Just like dead. If he died of cancer, it’s bad, if he died of a heart attack at a young age, then it’s normal, only pale. The bodies are kept in sleeping bags and the heads in metal containers.

— The history of life and illness is preserved somewhere, will descendants need it?

- In a good way, this, of course, must be done. If we receive such information, we scan it and store it.

- Suppose, in search of guest workers in summer cottages, riot police come to you and find a dismemberment with seven heads and four corpses in the hangar ...

We do not break the law, but we operate in a legal vacuum - we understand that this is risky. Of course, some arbitrariness is possible, but for the most part people are adequate and a dialogue is possible with them. We have documents, acts of acceptance and transfer of bodies for storage, a charter that says that we are engaged in scientific work, and so on.

— Do the neighbors know what is here?

— Yes, almost everything. They treat this normally, well, maybe we once heard one dissatisfied voice.

— Clients are not embarrassed by how it all looks? Hangar, village house...

“You just need to know the history. Any breakthrough technologies, by definition, are made in the same conditions.