“I’m trying to convince myself that when I close my eyes, I’ll open them 500 years from now. Maybe I’m lying to myself but I have to believe in that, otherwise it’s very hard to live,” a man living in Dublin says.
He thinks about his death “a lot”, he says, and finds the concept “troubling”.
Last year, he became one of a “handful” of people in Ireland to sign up to be cryopreserved by Tomorrow Bio, according to the Berlin-based company, which has already cryopreserved more than 20 bodies, alongside 10 pets.
Working in research at Trinity College Dublin, the man aged in his 40s does not wish to be named as he has not yet informed his family of his plans.
RM Block
His family is deeply religious, he says, and “would not be happy” at his planned attempt to cheat death.
“I’m a fighter, I can’t live in this world knowing that I didn’t do all that I can to continue. I know there’s a very small chance that this will succeed, but it gives me some peace of mind,” he says.
He is among 800 or so people in Europe who pay a monthly fee of €50 to be cryopreserved. A separate, once-off payment of €200,000 is required at death, or €75,000 for those wishing to cryopreserve their brain only.
Describing himself as “very religious” when he was younger, he is now an atheist and maintains that life is “much easier” for those who believe they will live on in an afterlife.
“When you’re an atheist, it’s harder to live because you know you will stop existing at some point and there’s nothing you can do.
[ Could there be good reason to believe in life after death?Opens in new window ]
“As you approach your end, you would do anything to stay there, and that’s what I’m doing, I would do anything to stay here,” he says.
Alongside providing peace of mind, the self-proclaimed “sci-fi person” says the prospect of waking up in hundreds of years is exciting.
“I want to be there, I want to see flying cars, interstellar travelling,” he says, adding: “I’m looking forward to the future.”
The plan is that he will inform Tomorrow Bio when his death is nearing, and a response team will be on standby. After his death is legally pronounced, the team will cool him down using ice and water.
The team travels in ambulances equipped to perform “field cryopreservation”, according to Tomorrow Bio, “allowing us to get right to work”.
I think it’s just a matter of time. I’m pretty sure at some point, we will solve death
— Dr Emil Kendziorra
His blood will be slowly replaced with “cryoprotectant” to stop ice crystals from forming and, on reaching a storage facility in Switzerland, his body will be cooled to -120 degrees.
This, Tomorrow Bio says, will see his body transformed into a “glass-like state” before he slowly reaches -196 degrees.
He will then be placed in a pod within a container, known as a cryogenic dewar, which is filled with liquid nitrogen. There, he will be stored “indefinitely”, says Tomorrow Bio’s chief executive and co-founder, Dr Emil Kendziorra.
“Once you’re in cryostasis, you just wait it out until medicine has progressed enough to be able to reverse the process,” he says.
While it is possible to cryopreserve a body, it is not “yet” possible to “take someone out of cryopreservation”.
“We warn people,” he says, adding: “It’s just a chance, it’s not a guarantee by any means.”
While scepticism is “totally warranted here”, he believes it is possible in principle, and there are “no fundamental laws of physics” against reversing cryopreservation, “as far as we know”.
Aged in his 30s, he also plans to be cryopreserved.
“I think it’s just a matter of time. I’m pretty sure at some point, we will solve death,” he says.
The company, which covers all of Europe, has capacity for about 1,500 bodies, he says, which can be expanded once that number is reached.
Accepting that €200,000 is a high price, he says this reflects the cost of potentially keeping bodies preserved for hundreds of years.
“Almost no one pays €200,000 out of pocket,” he says, explaining that most members take out a life insurance policy, the payout of which is made to Tomorrow Bio.
Another man in Ireland, an engineer in his 20s who has signed up, was surprised to discover he could be cryopreserved, despite living in Donegal.
“It’s just the only option to have some sort of hope if you’re not religious or spiritual,” he says.
Waking up in the future, however, could come with its own set of problems, he notes, namely a lack of family and friends.
However, he believes he could be of “great value” to any future hypothetical civilisation, coming from a different period.
“Imagine if we could revive someone from the medieval era, you could get a lot of information,” he says.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, believes there is a certain stigma surrounding cryopreservation.
“It is a bit strange, and there’s so few people doing it. If you identify yourself, it would draw attention,” he says.
For the last two years, he has paid the monthly membership fee and a premium for his life insurance policy, the payout of which will ultimately be made to Tomorrow Bio.
He accepts cryopreservation is a gamble but “it’s fairly affordable”.
“I know people who spend more on a round of drinks every weekend,” he says.
