Frozen In Time: British Man's Body Cryopreserved In Hope of Future Revival

In a groundbreaking move, a 50-year-old British cancer patient's body was flown 3,750 miles and cryopreserved at a Michigan facility, sparking hopes of a future revival. The patient, who had opted for a cryonics scheme, was packed in dry ice at a London funeral home before embarking on the journey to the Cryonics Institute (CI), Metro reported. According to a case report from CI, the patient had been under hospital care at the time of his death.

Notably, the cancer patient's body underwent a meticulous cryopreservation process, replacing blood and water with a specialised cryo-protection mixture to prevent ice formation and facilitate long-term preservation. After his death on February 29, his body was transported in dry ice to the Cryonics Institute (CI) in Michigan, where it was placed in a cryostat and frozen in liquid nitrogen at -196C.

The CI is now home to over 250 patients, including pets and human heads, all suspended in a state of sub-zero limbo. 

CI president Dennis Kowalksi previously described cryonics as a gamble which may result in ''an ambulance ride to a future hospital.''

He said, ''Ironically, while the number of members is growing, I'm only surprised that we're not more popular. What we are doing is pretty rational when you think about it. Cryonics is like an ambulance ride to a future hospital that may or may not exist someday. While we give no guarantees, if you are buried or cremated your chances of coming back are zero. We are therefore Pascal's wager, or a gamble with little to lose and all to gain.''

He further drew parallels between the scepticism surrounding reviving the dead and the once-impossible feat of heart or liver transplants, now routine medical procedures. Despite criticism from experts like Dr. Miriam Stoppard, who dismisses cryonics as "fanciful pseudoscience", the number of people signing up for the scheme continues to grow.

Alan Sinclair, an 85-year-old British man and CI member, has acknowledged that there is ''no guarantee'' of a second life but said that ''coming out of suspension at 185 or 1085 is a good idea.''