This is what happens when your body is cryogenically frozen
- 7 years ago
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN — A landmark British court ruling that a 14-year-old girl who died of cancer should have her body cryogenically frozen has once again put the spotlight on the controversial process known as cryonics.
Britain’s High Court ruled in October that the girl had the right to be cryogenically frozen after her parents disagreed about whether she should undergo the process, the Telegraph reported.
Cryonics is a procedure that preserves the human body at low temperatures after death in the hope it can be revived in the future. The process must begin within two minutes of a person being declared legally dead.
Although the heart has stopped beating, there is still some brain function during this period, so a heart-lung resuscitator is used to stabilize the body and keep the brain supplied with blood and oxygen.
An anticoagulant is injected into the body to stop the blood clotting during transit. The body is then packed in ice and transported to a cryonics facility.
Once there, a process called vitrification begins, where the blood is replaced with a cryoprotectant antifreeze fluid. This is done to prevent the cells from freezing and to stop ice crystals from forming around the organs at extremely low temperatures.
The body is then placed on a bed of dry ice until it cools to -130 degrees Celsius. Once cooled sufficiently, the body is transferred to an individual container, which is in turn lowered into a larger metal tank that’s filled with liquid nitrogen to keep the temperature at -196 degrees Celsius.
Between four and six bodies are typically held in the tanks. Bodies are stored with the heads facing down to ensure the brain stays immersed in freezing liquid even in the event of a leak in the container.
Approval to build a cryonics center in Australia was granted in late November. Russia is currently the only country outside the United States to host cryonics facilities.
Around 350 people have been cryogenically frozen since the 1960s, including several notable scientists and the baseball legend Ted Williams, according to the Telegraph.
However, the technology to revive someone who has been cryogenically frozen does not exist and there is no proof that it ever will.
Britain’s High Court ruled in October that the girl had the right to be cryogenically frozen after her parents disagreed about whether she should undergo the process, the Telegraph reported.
Cryonics is a procedure that preserves the human body at low temperatures after death in the hope it can be revived in the future. The process must begin within two minutes of a person being declared legally dead.
Although the heart has stopped beating, there is still some brain function during this period, so a heart-lung resuscitator is used to stabilize the body and keep the brain supplied with blood and oxygen.
An anticoagulant is injected into the body to stop the blood clotting during transit. The body is then packed in ice and transported to a cryonics facility.
Once there, a process called vitrification begins, where the blood is replaced with a cryoprotectant antifreeze fluid. This is done to prevent the cells from freezing and to stop ice crystals from forming around the organs at extremely low temperatures.
The body is then placed on a bed of dry ice until it cools to -130 degrees Celsius. Once cooled sufficiently, the body is transferred to an individual container, which is in turn lowered into a larger metal tank that’s filled with liquid nitrogen to keep the temperature at -196 degrees Celsius.
Between four and six bodies are typically held in the tanks. Bodies are stored with the heads facing down to ensure the brain stays immersed in freezing liquid even in the event of a leak in the container.
Approval to build a cryonics center in Australia was granted in late November. Russia is currently the only country outside the United States to host cryonics facilities.
Around 350 people have been cryogenically frozen since the 1960s, including several notable scientists and the baseball legend Ted Williams, according to the Telegraph.
However, the technology to revive someone who has been cryogenically frozen does not exist and there is no proof that it ever will.