Australia's first cryonics patient frozen in a groundbreaking procedure
A man from Sydney has become the first in Australia to use the services of the cryonics company Southern Cryonics after his death. Representatives of the company announced that the 80-year-old, referred to as "Patient One," was successfully frozen, reports The Independent. Cryonics, still sparking much emotion and doubt, is meant to be a bridge between the current capabilities of medicine and what can be achieved in the future, offering hopes of "immortality".
"Patient One," an 80-year-old man who died at the beginning of May 2024, had already signed a contract with Southern Cryonics, offering cryogenic services. He paid £137,000 to have his body frozen after his death at a temperature of -196 degrees Celsius. He decided to take this step because he hoped that future medicine would allow him to be brought back to life and repair the damage in his body caused by ageing and various diseases.
Life after death thanks to cryonics?
Immediately after his death, the patient underwent procedures to prepare his body for freezing. They lasted nearly 10 hours, and their goal was to secure the body and gradually introduce it to the liquid nitrogen temperature at -196 degrees Celsius. After the procedures were completed, the "Patient One" body was placed in a special isothermal chamber. Here, it will be stored until science and medicine reach a level that allows the man to be brought back to life. Not everyone is enthusiastic about this vision. Moreover, some scientists even claim that it will never be possible.
"We’re thrilled to announce our first successful cryonics suspension with Patient 1! Thanks to our incredible team and partners for their swift and dedicated efforts. A major milestone for Southern Cryonics and CryoPath!," wrote the company on platform X.
Peter Tsolakides, the director of Southern Cryonics, quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald, emphasized that the company "don’t make guarantees." He also added that, in his opinion, the probability of bringing people back to life in the future is estimated to be between 5 and 30 percent. He said, "Don’t forget that’s a reasonable probability versus the alternative – I don’t think people who are in the ground or cremated have any probability at all."
It is worth recalling that cryonics is not new. The first person, Prof. James Bedford, was frozen on 12 January 1967. His body is stored at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, one of the world's first commercial centres dealing with cryonics.
