4 replies to this topic

[ImmInst]

Cryonics is a method of ‘medical time travel’ - placing the body in biostasis after legal death with the hope that future technology will be invented which can revive the body. To most people who share LongeCity’s mission cryonics is the ‘second worst thing’ that can happen to you, but nonetheless a viable alternative to burial or creation.

Cryonics prices vary (an overview can be found on this page maintained by Cryonics expert and LongeCity Advisor Ben Best) but it is affordable to nearly everyone via life insurance… nearly everyone. A few people who really want cryonics cannot get life insurance: After an accident, LongeCity Member James Swayze found himself quadriplegic and unable to get insurance. The life of LongeCity Member William O’Rights took a turn for the worst when he was diagnosed with aggressive throat cancer after having been suddenly deprived of all funds. Kim Suozzi was 23 and had not yet heard about cryonics when she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Aaron Winborn heard of her case - and cryonics- only when the debilitating effects of Lou Gehrig's Disease had already begun to paralyse him. All these people were eventually offered a cryonics provision through the generous donations of others in our community.
We want to continue this proud tradition, looking out for those who share our common dream in unlimited lifespans, in the shadow of imminent death and despair.

However, this needs to be done carefully. It cannot be stressed enough that cryonics is affordable to most people if they only have the foresight to act early and arrange affordable life insurance. This element of personal responsibility is at the heart not just of cryonics. If we establish a hardship scheme, it must not create a moral hazard, and incentive to put things off as too unpleasant and complicated to think about until it is too late. Of course, we must also ward against fraud and abuse. An element of careful analysis and due diligence is therefore required, looking into the circumstances of each individual case.

The LongeCity cryonics hardship fund has two purposes:
1) To support a (volunteer based) infrastructure for maintaining the scheme and exercising the due diligence mentioned above
2) When a hardship case has been endorsed by LongeCity, we will use the hardship fund to help to fundraise for that individual by matching further donations. All these donations will go to a dedicated account for that person’s cryopreservation, never to the individual directly.

Applicants to our cryonics hardship fund must
- co-operate fully with LongeCity appointed auditors and reviewers
- genuinely be unable to not fully fund their cryosuspension and not have a reasonable chance of doing so prior to their likely death
- help to fundraise for their cause and help raise public awareness for cryonics

In the past, we have partnered with our friend in the Venturist community on cryonic hardship cases. We hoping to do so again on future occasions.



Click HERE to make a contribution to the fund

To apply email the full details of your case: contact@longecity.org

Click here to view the article

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[jCole]

Fantastic idea!

[John Schloendorn]

This has worked very well in the past, when born out of a need that was spontaneously answered by the community.  I'm skeptical of institutionalizing it.  Institutionalization breeds moral hazard.  The more review and auditing metrics you pile on, the more opportunity you end up creating for crafty groups to hack the process in ways you didn't intend.  

[Lazarus Long]

While I basically agree with John; if the intent were to promote cryonics thorough the Institute picking up the tab on some policies and then having them to use in the future for truly worthwhile cases, this might not be such a bad idea. The program doesn't really need to be formalized more than maintaining some open insurance policies, at perhaps "a lower than market" rate; if the companies involved and individual donations support it. 

 

Don't advertise the policy too much and don't institutionalize it as a committee, but have it as a option to offer when need arises.

 

Applying this option must pass an "institutional test", first at the directorial level and then the membership. Perhaps even a third intermediate level of the whole of leadership combined for a vote.  We already have in place mechanisms for the review and voting of such concerns.  This is also when democracy deserves the test.

[Alexey Immorta Potapov]

we can also spend fund money to research and local support