Back from the dead: More companies enter the business of cryopreservation

Cryopreservation, or the practice of freezing dead bodies, has become a reality today. There are companies offering services where a person can freeze their body or just the brain with hopes of coming back to life someday. Science hasn't made such advances yet, but the rich seem to be optimistic about it becoming a reality. A German company is offering cryopreservation services and has several takers. The person or their family have the option to either freeze the entire body or just the brain.

The German company Tomorrow Bio charges approximately $214,414 (Rs 1.8 crore) to freeze an entire body and $80,047 (Rs 67.2 lakh) for brain-only preservation. The person's blood is replaced with a cryoprotectant solution to prevent ice crystals. The process of freezing the body involves cooling it down to minus 198 degrees Celsius and putting it into a state of ‘biostasis’. This ensures that all biological processes stop. The body is then placed in a vacuum-insulated metal container that is filled with liquid nitrogen.

The company says it aims “to build a world where people can choose how long they want to live – independent of where they are, who they are, and their financial resources.”

Also Read:The rich are freezing their bodies in hopes of coming back to life in the future

Tomorrow Bio has already cryopreserved six people and five pets, with more than 650 individuals in line. The company's co-founder Fernando Azevedo Pinheir says, "During our lifetime, we may witness the safe cryopreservation and reanimation of complex organisms."

American cryopreservation company

This German company is not the first to enter the business of cryopreservation. Arizona-based Alcor Life Extension Foundation has frozen 230 people till now and has a total of 1,400 members. Alcor charges $220,000 (nearly Rs 2 crore) for the cryopreservation of the whole body and $80,000 (nearly Rs 66 lakh) for just the brain. Alcor also ensures that if the person comes to life some day, they have enough resources to survive. It creates a trust fund which also takes care of your cryopreserved body.

The hefty price tag means that only the uber-rich can avail these services. But paying this much moolah doesn't guarantee revival. No one knows whether humans will ever be able to create a technology through which the dead can be brought back to life.