World Cryonics Day (Bedford Day)

Cryopreservation of organisms leads to the cessation of their vital activity and long-term preservation in their original form The first experiments on freezing dead people in laboratory conditions began in the 60s of the last century Since that time, about 400 bodies have been placed in tanks with liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 °C in the United States In Russia, a similar service appeared in 2005 On January 12, World Cryonics Day is celebrated, also called Bedford Day in honor of the first frozen patient - James Hiram Bedford The American professor suffered from an incurable form of kidney cancer, which also affected his lungs In the prospect of imminent death, James Bedford proposed his candidacy for the experiment, which was approved by cryopreservation specialists On January 12, 1967, in California at the age of 73, he was frozen as the first volunteer several hours after his death Bedford left a will, according to which 100 thousand dollars were transferred to a special fund for further research in the field of cryonics Since that time, scientists have begun to actively study and engage in freezing both people and pets, as well as individual parts of the body - for example, the human brain This procedure is carried out in anticipation of revival in the future The standard contract with the patient and cryoservice is concluded for 100 years with a possible extension for 25 years In the USA, 2 public organizations have been created that will monitor the resurrection of people (removal from freezing) and the restoration of their property rights In all countries of the world where this practice of preserving bodies by cryopreservation is used, the protocol for the procedure is the same First, the body is cooled to 0 °C to inhibit the processes of cell death and decomposition After this, the blood is removed from the body, and a cryoprotectant is introduced instead Next, it is cooled to dry ice (-80 °C) At this stage, you can hold a memorial service or funeral service for the deceased The body is then permanently cryopreserved in a liquid nitrogen dewar Many scientists do not share the optimism of patients who enter into contracts to be frozen after death They explain their skepticism by the impossibility of preserving the integrity of the human brain, which consists of 80% water Ice crystals destroy its cell membranes, and it is impossible to restore them after long-term storage Optimists believe in the rapid pace of development of modern science, which will figure out how to circumvent the difficulties arising during cryonics Scientists have compiled psychological portraits of people who dream of freezing their bodies Patients of cryogenic storage facilities dream of immortality and consider their mission on earth unfulfilled, assessing their life as unsuccessful People pay money for the illusory hope of resurrecting not only themselves, but also their pets - dogs and cats Sponsors are found to pay for the freezing of some patients They offer the relatives of the deceased to bear all the costs of the procedure Thus, specialists of the KrioRus company are aware of the fact that sponsors contacted the relatives of Zhanna Friske and Lyubov Polishchuk They did not receive permission for cryopreservation It is human nature to look into the future with hope and believe in miracles It is possible that in a few decades, science will find a way to revive frozen people through the emergence of innovative biomedical technologies Therefore, scientists, potential cryogenic storage patients and ordinary people who share the idea of ​​human immortality celebrate Bedford Day on January 12