Alcor Life Extension Foundation

The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often simply called Alcor, is an American non-profit companies in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Objectives

Alcor is committed to cryonics and executes them. It is about preserving a body by liquid nitrogen in the hope may be able to restore it to full health and also to address the root causes of his death, if new technologies would be used in the future.

Since 31 August 2012 Alcor belong to 975 members. 112 bodies found in the cryopreservation. 76 of these bodies suffered before her death in neuronal diseases or were for the " preservation of their brains " conserved, although their tissue according to current knowledge by the "conservation" is irreversibvel damaged. (July 2012). Alcor " conserved" and animals for its members. Since November 15, 2007 33 animals were adopted.

Alcor accepts anatomical donations ( " cryonic cases " ) under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act and Arizona Anatomical Gift Act for the purpose of research, confirmed by a court case in their favor, by which the constitutional right is confirmed for cryopreservation and the donation of a body allows for this purpose.

History

The largest organization in cryonics today, in relation to the membership, was founded as a nonprofit organization by Fred and Linda Chamberlain in California in 1972 as the Alcor Society for Solid State Hypothermia ( ALCOR ). Alcor was named after a faint star in the Big Dipper. The name was changed to " Alcor Life Extension Foundation " in 1977. The organization was conceived as a technology-oriented cryonic organization that was managed on a fiscally conservative base. Alcor advertised in direct mail and offered seminars to attract members and to draw attention to the cryonics. On the first of these seminars was attended by 30 people.

On July 16, 1976 at Alcor to Fred Chamberlain's father, performed the first known " cryopreservation ". In the same year, the research began in cryonics with initial funding by the Manrise Corporation. At that time, the office of Alcor consisted of a mobile surgical unit in a large van. Trans Time Inc., an organization of cryonics in the San Francisco Bay Area, presented the first storage places willing to Alcor began with its own storage in 1982.

In 1977 the statutes of the company Institute for Advanced Biological Studies ( IABS ) and Soma Inc. were filed in Indianapolis. IABS was a nonprofit research organization and was designed by a young enthusiast of cryonics, named Steve Bridge, passed. Soma, however, was founded as a profit organization and devoted himself to the cryopreservation and storage of preserved people, headed by Mike Darwin, which then President of Alcor was. Also bridge held the same position many years later. IABS and Soma were moved in 1981 to California. 1982 Soma was dissolved and IABS and Alcor fused together.

In 1978 was Cryovita Laboratories of Jerry Leaf, which had taught surgery at UCLA, was founded. Cryovita was a profit organization that delivered in the 1980s, up to Leafs death, preservations and transportation services for Alcor. After Leafs death Alcor led these services from their own. Leaf and Michael Darwin in 1982 worked together to complete the first Kryonikpatienten, James Bedford, the " conserved" in 1967 was to move into the California establishment of Alcor.

During this time, Leaf worked with Michael Darwin in a number of Hypothermieexperimenten in which dogs without measurable neurological deficit after hours in deep hypothermia, only a few degrees above zero degrees Celsius, were revived. The blood-substitute which has been developed for these experiments provided the basis for the washout solution, the Alcor used. Together Leaf and Darwin developed a stand- transport model for the human cryonics cases, with the aim of the intervention immediately after cardiac arrest, and minimizing ischemic injury. Leaf was cryopreserved by Alcor in 1991. Since 1992, Alcor his own " cryopreservation " and body storage services.

Alcor grew slowly in its early years. In 1984 it merged with the Cryonics Society of South Florida. Alcor had only 50 members in 1985. This year, the third body was " cryopreserved ". However, during this time, researchers carried by Alcor in some important techniques for cryopreservation, resulting in " vitrification " also to the current method.

In 1986 an increase in membership was to recognize what is due to the publication of Eric Drexler's " Engines of Creation ". The " Engines of Creation " debuted the idea of nanotechnology and also contained a chapter on cryonics. Also in 1986, a group of Alcor members Symbex. These were a small investment company that finances a building in Riverside, California, for lease by Alcor. Alcor moved from Fullerton, California, into the new building in Riverside in 1987 and Timothy Leary appeared at the opening. Alcor cryopreserved an animal of a member in 1986 and two in 1987. Three human cases were treated in 1988, including the first full body of a patient by Alcor and that time had in 1989. Alcor 20 % stake in Symbex, with the aim to achieve a 51% stake. In September 1988, Leary was known to be a member of Alcor. The goal was to become the first famous member of Alcor. Later, however, Leary moved to another organization called Cryocare before he changed his mind completely. Alcor Vice -President, Director, Head of suspension and team chief doctor, Jerry Leaf, died suddenly in 1991 of a heart attack.

Alcor grew until 1990 to 300 members and was the largest establishment of cryonics world. The organization wanted to stay in Riverside County, but in response to concerns that the California system was also prone to earthquakes, the organization purchased a building in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1993 and moved his preserved corpses. Alcor held seven conferences from the technologies prolong its life. These include speakers such as Eric Drexler, Ralph Merkle, Ray Kurzweil, Aubrey de Grey, Timothy Leary and Michael D. West were.