Cryonics Practice for Freezing Human Body

Source – This post on Cryonics has been created based on the article “Dead body of man in his 80s frozen to revive in future; ₹94 lakh spent for ‘Star Trek in play” published in “Live Mint” on 1 June 2024.

Why in News?

Recently, a cryonics company in Australia has frozen its first client, with the hope of reviving him in the future.

About Cryonics

1. The practice of freezing an individual who has died, to revive them in the future, is known as cryonics.

2.  The word cryonics is derived from the Greek word “krýos,” meaning “icy cold.”

3. Objective: Cryonics aims to save lives by preserving individuals at extremely low temperatures until future medical technologies can restore them to full health.

4. Individuals in this state are referred to as “cryopreserved patients,” as Cryonicists do not consider them truly dead.

5. Process: The process of Cryonic preservation involves the following process:

a) Cryonic preservation can only be performed after an individual has been legally declared dead. The process begins shortly after death, with the body being packed in ice and transported to a cryonics facility.

b)  At the facility, blood is drained and replaced with antifreeze and organ-preserving compounds known as cryoprotective agents.

c) In this vitrified state, the body is placed in a chamber filled with liquid nitrogen and preserved at -196 °C.

6. Currently, a few hundred bodies have been frozen through cryonics.

UPSC Syllabus: Science and technology