Alcor Life Extension Foundation

The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is the world leader in cryonics, cryonics research, and cryonics technology. Cryonics is the science of using ultra-cold temperature to preserve human life with the intent of restoring good health when technology becomes available to do so. Alcor is a non-profit organization located in Scottsdale, Arizona, founded in 1972.

What Cryonics Is

Cryonics is a speculative life support technology that seeks to preserve human life in a state that will be viable and treatable by future medicine. It is expected that future medicine will include mature nanotechnology, and the ability to heal at the cellular and molecular levels.

What Cryonics Is Not

Cryonics as practiced by Alcor is not an interment method, mortuary practice, or dead tissue preservation. Just as organ donation involves recovery of living organs from a donor that is brain dead, cryonics involves stabilizing the viable brain of a patient who is legally deceased based on cardiac death. Cryonics cannot work for anyone who is truly brain dead.

Cryonics and Religion

Cryonics is an attempt to preserve and protect the gift of human life. The purpose of cryonics is to maintain life, not reverse death. Lack of legal status as a person does not imply lack of moral status as a person. The spiritual status of cryonics patients is the same as frozen human embryos, or unconscious medical patients. When properly examined, cryonics has been endorsed by both clergy and theologians.

Cryonics and Science

Banking of transplantable organs at low temperature is a recognized specialty of the science of cryobiology. Alcor applies breakthroughs in organ banking research to the much more difficult problem of preserving whole people. Although cryonics is not reversible today, the eventual perfection of cryonics will be of great value to fields such as medicine and space travel.

Information about Cryonics

The intent and practice of cryonics are frequently misreported by news media. We invite you to explore this site and reach your own conclusions.