Re: Cryonics and organ donation (Damien's scenario)

From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Sat Apr 08 2000 - 11:51:39 MDT


John M Grigg wrote:
>
> Damien wrote:
> If the whole customer base for the insurance industry collapses around the same time revival becomes technically feasible - since both are constrained/enabled by the same factors - then the cryo warehouse customers will be shit out of luck right
> when they need it most. No?
> (end)
>
> I don't think so because insurance premiums are payed out at the time of death and so the two main organizations will have funds that hopefully carry them through. Both Alcor and CI each have slightly over one million in savings.
>
> Now, when you say 'cryo warehouse customers' if you mean the still living who want to be frozen rather then the already suspended, then you have a good point. The insurance companies would have a hard time surviving such times and I don't know if they would have the deep pockets to cover those already signed with them. I would like to think that the federal gov't would step in to guarantee things but that may be wishful thinking. I hope not.

Thing is that most people have life insurance. Insurance companies pay
on those policies every day, and they don't go broke. The only instance
would be if a whole lot of people died in a very short period, it would
probably drain their resources, much as floods and hurricaines will tend
to strain insurance companies.

>
> So if someone is old and dying in let's say 2030, they may be out of luck if they are 'on the edge' and cannot afford to be suspended because their policy is no more and yet nano is not yet quite advanced enough to cure their illnesses and extend their life, or it is too expensive for them to take advantage of it since they may be impoverished.

Then they just go to the local organ donation center, and donate their
bodies in exchange for suspension. While cloning technologies will be
around to grow new organs for people, they will be useless in emergency
conditions, and emergency organ transplants will be the most profitable
anyways.

Mike Lorrey



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