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Manufacturing Technology Insights | Friday, August 26, 2022
Although cryopreservation is emerging as a crucial aspect in the medical industry, many inscrutable concerns are hindering it from entering into the larger medical premises.
FREMONT, CA: The primary objective of medical cryopreservation is to safely store a legally dead subject until the possibility arises when technology and medicine will permit reanimation after eliminating the disease or cause of death. Cryonics technology prevents damage and injury by restoring respiration and blood circulation and rapidly lowering temperature. A body can be preserved at this extremely low temperature until the need for reanimation. Currently, cryonic technology has influenced numerous scientific contributions and advancements. However, there is a huge influx of challenges in this area of practice.
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Cost
Cryonics is expensive due to the extensive amount of resources required for prolonged preservation and a lack of expertise in the field. Affording the procedure costs 28,000 USD to 200,000 USD in 2018, which is a high value specifically for a clinically unproven theory that currently relies on inexistent technology. Nevertheless, cryonics would be worthwhile in seeking reanimation possibilities in the future.
Legal Consequences
Presently, there is no unified global perspective on cryonics. Only a few countries have reservations concerning the practice. There are various ethical and legal questions raised in the procedure regardless of the technological developments. For some people, employing cryonics is justifiable and humane, while others believe it to be an unethical practice. The legal status of cryopreserved people and whether cryothanasia is an achievable option to increase the chances of revival is also of greater concern.
Feasibility of Revival
Proving the revival of cryo patients is the most daunting challenge as there are no proven innovations that can extend the human lifespan. Revival involves fixing damage caused by freezing, hypoxia, cryoprotectant toxicity, and thermal stress, then curing, and regenerating possible tissue if required. Recent findings have observed that different cells, tissues, and organs need particularly tailored cryopreservation protocols to promote the survival of the cryopreserved material. This requirement will pose a significant challenge to cryonics because the same cryopreservation process used throughout the body may not always result in revival. Additionally, a revival protocol would have to be created for every cryonic patient because death occurs due to several causes.
Cryopreservation Damage
Improving the survival of complex tissues and organs remains a difficulty in cryopreservation. Recovery from cryoinjury in cryonics would be more difficult given the complexity of the human body since prolonged vitrification at extremely low temperatures predisposes large organs to rupture. Ice crystals also damage intercellular junctions necessary for the functioning of an organ. Moreover, without effective and safe cryoprotectants, cell survival is diminished by dehydration, high salt concentrations, and cryoprotectant-induced toxicity.
Limited Pro-cryonic Research
Cryobiology research based on cryopreservation of more complex tissue and organs forms the basis of cryonics. They cannot be regarded as cryonics studies. The Society for Cryobiology has discouraged scientists from doing work that could develop cryonics. However, the predictable outcome of this stance is minor research contributions and slow scientific progress that could be enhanced by encouraging the specialisation of pro-cryonic scientists and research.
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