People pay thousands of dollars to this Russian firm to store their brain when they die.. in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring them back to life.
When Alexei Voronenkov’s 70-year-old mother passed away, he paid to have her brain frozen and stored in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring her back to life.
“I hope one day it reaches a level when we can produce artificial bodies and organs to create an artificial body where my mother’s brain can be integrated.”
It is one of 71 brains and human cadavers – which Russian company KrioRus calls its “patients” – floating in liquid nitrogen in one of several metres-tall vats in a corrugated metal shed outside Moscow.
They are stored at -196 degrees Celsius (-320.8°F) with the aim of protecting them against deterioration, although there is currently no evidence science will be able to revive the dead.
“I did this because we were very close and I think it is the only chance for us to meet in the future,” said Voronenkov who intends to undergo the procedure, known as cryonics, when he dies.
The procedure costs $36,000 for a whole body and $15,000 for the brain alone for Russians. Prices are slightly higher for non-Russians.
Valeriya Udalova, KrioRus’s director who got her dog frozen when it died in 2008, said it is likely that humankind will develop the technology to revive dead people in the future, but that there is no guarantee of such technology.
KrioRus’ director Udalova argues that those paying to have dying relatives’ remains preserved are showing how much they love them.
“They try to bring hope,” she said. “What can we do for our dying relatives or the ones that we love? A nice burial, a photo album,” she said. “They go further, proving their love even more.”
Wow, this is crazy. I believe there would be a technology to make use of these brains in the nearest future.