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5 months ago
24
Details of the first Aussie to be cryogenically frozen in the hope of returning back to life in the future have been revealed as others sign up for the experimental procedure.
Southern Cryonics, which is the first cryonics facility in the Southern Hemisphere, announced it has cryogenically frozen its first person - dubbed 'Patient One'.
The Sydney man died this month in his 80s and was cryogenically frozen on May 17 at Southern Cryonics' facility in Holbrook - a small NSW town located near the Victorian border.
Cryonics is an experimental area of research in which the bodies of the clinically dead are frozen at -196C so they can potentially be resuscitated if future medical advances allow.
The company explained it learned of the man's 'deteriorating condition' and 'swiftly responded' when he died on May 12 at a hospital in Sydney's inner-west.
A Sydney man, who died in his 80s, was the first Aussie to be cryogenically frozen in the hopes of returning back to life in the future
Cryonics is an experimental area of research in which the bodies of the clinically dead are frozen at -196C so they can potentially be resuscitated if future medical advances allow
Southern Cryonics' facility manager Philip Rhoades led a team of up to six members - including clinical perfusionists (medical professionals who operate heart-lung bypass machines) and a doctor - through the complex, 10-hour process of preparing the man's body in the hope of it being brought back to life in the future.
Once the patient had died, Mr Rhoades caught the train to Sydney and stopped to collect bags of ice before heading to the hospital.
The man's body was moved to the hospital's cool room after his death certificate was produced and then was packed in ice to bring his body temperature down to six degrees Celsius.
'Patient 1 was transferred from the hospital's cooling room to A. O'Hare funeral home [Leichhardt], packed in ice,' a Southern Cryonics statement read.
'Thanks to the quick action of our team, including Phil Rhoades, Australian Blood Management (ABM), and the cooperation of hospital staff, we promptly began the suspension process.'
Doctors and perfusionists worked to pump a type of anti-freeze liquid through the man's body which helps lower a body's temperature and preserve cells.
The company explained the man's body was wrapped in a special type of sleeping bag and was packed in dry ice before being transported to the Holbrook facility.
'The patient was securely wrapped in a special sleeping bag that stays intact in liquid nitrogen,' Southern Cyronics wrote.
'Patient 1 was then cooled to dry ice temperature and transported to our Holbrook facility.'
The team then lowered the man's body temperature to minus 80 degrees Celsius in the facilities computer-controlled cooling chamber.
The body was then transferred to a Dewar, a specialised type of vacuum flask used for storing cryogens, with the entire process completed on May 17 - five days after the man's death.
The process cost the man a total of $170,000, including additional fees for medical teams that helped in the preservation process.
The man's body was transferred to Southern Cryonics' facility in Holbrook - a small town in NSW located near the Victorian border
It took a team of up to six people 10 hours to complete the process of preparing the man's body before transferring the man to a Dewar (pictured) a specialised type of vacuum flask used for storing cryogens
Facility manager Philip Rhoades (pictured) led the team of up to six people including clinical perfusionists and a doctor through the 'very stressful' process of preparing the man's body
Mr Rhoades explained the facility was open to accepting bodies from this year but its first patient arrived quite unexpectedly.
'There were a couple of other people who were existing members who we thought might be likely candidates for being the first but, as it turned out, it was someone who wasn't an existing member,' Mr Rhoades told ABC News.
'His family rang up out of the blue and we had about a week to prepare and get organised.'
Mr Rhoades said he lost sleep as the complex process of preparing the man's body was 'very stressful'.
'That was what was keeping me awake for a week because there are a number of different procedures to go through for different days, and there were a number of situations that might have gone wrong if we hadn't prepared properly,' Mr Rhoades said.
He added the team had tested all the cryonics equipment and were prepared despite only having run through the process on test dummies.
It comes after more Aussies sign up for the controversial practice in the hopes of having a second chance at life.
Allan and Barbara Pease, from Queensland, will be cryogenically frozen together at the Holbrook facility once they die.
The couple, who are body language, communication and relationship experts and have been married for 35 years, said they want their love story to continue even after death.
Queensland couple Allan and Barbara Pease (pictured) are two of 50 Australians that have paid $150,000 to secure a place at Southern Cryonics
The pair told 60 Minutes Australia if one of them doesn’t make it they will 'pull the plug on the other'.
'They have got the technology to put us in, but they haven’t figured out how to get us out yet, and there is always a risk. But the alternative is eternal blackness,' Mr Pease said.
'When we come back, whenever they find out a way to unfreeze us, if one of us doesn’t unfreeze properly they will pull the plug on the other. Neither want to do it on our own, I don't want to come back without her.'
Mrs Pease added: 'I don't want to come back without him either. We don't think about death, we just live in the moment and enjoy every second.'
So far 50 Australians from all walks of life have paid $150,000 to secure a place at Southern Cryonics.
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