[ExI] Hal Finney being cryopreserved now

[John Clark]

I'm very sorry to hear about Hal's death; when I first joined the Extropian
list, back when giant reptiles ruled the earth, Hal Finney was one of the
first people I communicated with. I hope his Cryopreservation goes well.

  John K Clark


On Thu, Aug 28, 2014 at 2:41 PM, Max More <max at maxmore.com> wrote:

> I am both sad and happy to tell you that long-time Extropy
> Institute/Extropy magazine/Extropy chat list member -- and honored
> cypherpunk and Bitcoin pioneer – was declared clinically dead this
> morning and is now being cryopreserved.
>
>
>
> Hal was diagnosed with ALS five years ago. He made it clear that once he
> lost the ability to communicate, he did not want his vital functions
> supported any further but should be allowed to cease functioning and
> promptly be cryopreserved. Hal and Fran Finney arrived in Scottsdale,
> Arizona on Tuesday where he was checked into ICU of a hospital near Alcor.
> After administration of drugs to ensure no consciousness, his ventilator
> was removed. Although the doctors expected all breathing to cease within an
> hour, Hal’s body kept going until shortly before 9:00 am this morning,
> August 28, 2014.
>
>
>
> Immediately after pronouncement of legal death, Alcor’s standby team went
> into action, restoring circulation, ventilation, administering an array of
> medications, and initiating external cooling. Surgery is currently underway
> to enable us to replace Hal’s blood and interstitial fluids with
> cryoprotectant. Once perfusion is finished we will be able to plunge Hal’s
> temperature down past the freezing point without any significant ice
> formation. Once he is down to around -110 degC we will slow cooling and
> take a couple more days to reach the final storage temperature of -196
> degC. After that, Hal will be placed in long-term storage and cared for
> until the day when repair and revival may be possible.
>
>
>
> Hal’s wife, Fran (also an Alcor member) has stayed by Hal’s side
> throughout and is observing our procedures firsthand.
>
>
>
> Since Hal is open about his Alcor membership and said that he would be
> happy for us to tell people about his choice if it might be good for
> cryonics, we will be issuing a press release, as well as writing something
> more extensive for *Cryonics* magazine and elsewhere. If you have
> thoughts on Hal and his life and work, please send them to me.
>
>
>
> Hal, I know I speak for many when I say that I look forward to speaking to
> you again sometime in the future and to throwing a party in honor of your
> revival.
>
>
>
> --Max
>
> --
> Max More, PhD
> Strategic Philosopher
> Co-editor, *The Transhumanist Reader*
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Transhumanist-Reader-Contemporary-Technology-Philosophy/dp/1118334310/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372225570&sr=1-1&keywords=the+transhumanist+reader
> President & CEO, Alcor Life Extension Foundation
>
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>
>
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