Life Suspension

Until recently, we’ve believed that after 4 minutes without oxygen, there is sufficient brain damage that the victim will not survive [1]. However, recent research indicates that hypoxia is not the cause. In fact, the brain cells don’t die after 4 minutes, instead the brain cells die when oxygen is reintroduced into the system (aptosis by reterofusion) [2]. In fact, the cells can live for at least an hour without oxygen.

If we can ascertain why the cells die with the introduction of oxygen and re-oxygenate the cells in a way that doesn’t cause them to die, we may be able to revive drowning victims after many hours.

Further, if we can find ways to extend the cell life to years instead of hours, say through cryogenic freezing, and then re-oxygenate them properly, we may be able to achieve persistent suspended animation.

This is a developing field. Driving the body into hypothermic state to slow down processing and oxygen absorption and reduce associated inflammation damage has been used successfully in cardiac treatment [3] and most publicly in the treatment of Bill's football player Keven Everett who we are hopeful will walk again soon [4].

Imagine a world where many-year suspended animation is possible. Without legal intervention, the technique wouldn’t be limited to individuals with chronic disease awaiting a cure. Sports stars in a waning career could freeze themselves only to reappear years later to challenge the new stars of the game; imagine if we could watch Sampras vs Federer or Pele vs Ronaldinho near the peak of their careers? Financially-motivated individuals could build a bank-roll and then suspend themselves for many years, gambling that their investments will outgrow inflation and they will awake many times as wealthy. How many individuals would choose to use the technique to avoid death in hopes that the biological mechanisms for immortality are just around the corner? We could counter global warming by suspending much of the population for 1,000 years only to revive society exactly where we left off. We could send 1,000-year missions into the far reaches of the galaxy. The notion of a fixed lifespan will disappear entirely. The possibility of cross-generational “time travel” into the future will become entirely possible.

Are we prepared, as a society, to deal with the ramification of a major medical advancement that may be less than 10 years away? Or is this just progress? Is eliminating the entire notion of a fixed lifespan just a natural progression that we will adapt to in the same way we’ve adapted to other society-changing medical developments such as antibiotics or widely available birth control?

[1] Drowning

[2] Aptosis, Reperfusion Injury

[3] To Treat the Dead

[4] Experimental Treatment May Help NFL Player Walk