Alcor's Scottsdale facility stores bodies at -320 degrees
The nonprofit charges up to $220,000 to preserve members using a chemical process called vitrification, betting that future medicine can reverse the effects of death.
By Malik Salazar ·
In an industrial section of Scottsdale, Arizona, a nonprofit operates a facility where human bodies and heads are stored in liquid nitrogen.
Alcor Life Extension Foundation has practiced cryonics since the 1970s, a method that pauses the dying process by cooling tissue to subfreezing temperatures. The organization preserves members after legal death with the aim of keeping cells intact until future medical technology can repair and revive them.
The process relies on a technique known as vitrification. CEO James Arrowood explained that the method uses chemicals and controlled cooling to prevent ice crystal formation, which typically destroys cellular structures. A specific solution called M22 acts as a biological antifreeze, keeping the tissue solid but without internal ice.
When an Alcor member dies, a rapid response team called DART mobilizes immediately. This group includes medically trained personnel, some of whom are former military members, who begin cooling the body as soon as legally permitted. Internal medical staff then spend about a week replacing blood with preservation solutions and gradually lowering the temperature. Once prepared, the patient is placed in a dewar, a container that holds liquid nitrogen at approximately -320 degrees Fahrenheit.
Members choose between whole-body preservation and neuro preservation, which stores only the head. Proponents of neuro preservation argue that memory and identity reside in the brain. The facility stores hundreds of members in these containers, including a two-year-old girl from Thailand who died from brain cancer.
The cost of the service is substantial. Whole-body preservation typically costs about $220,000. Neuro preservation generally ranges from $80,000 to $90,000. Funding often comes from life insurance policies, a factor Arrowood identified as a common source of modern logistical and financial disputes.
Skepticism persists regarding the viability of the practice. Dr. Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, described the promise of revival as preposterous. He cited unresolved scientific barriers, including the chemical balance required for preservation and the neurological challenges of reattaching a brain to a new body. Caplan noted that an old brain would struggle to process signals from new nerves. However, he acknowledged that the preservation techniques could eventually improve organ banking and medical repair.
Arrowood admitted the uncertainty inherent in the field. He stated that he does not know if cryonics will ever work and accepted that it might not work for him personally. He compared the gamble to early medical breakthroughs, such as the first heart transplant, where recipients knew they would die soon but paved the way for future generations.
Author and Alcor member Rick Lemler signed up for cryopreservation after legal death. He described the choice as a personal bet on possibility rather than certainty. Lemler said he is concerned about the odds but believes he is not losing anything in the exchange. His photograph will be added to the wall of member faces inside the Scottsdale building when his time comes.
