[CryoCare]

CryoCare Signup Policies and Assistance

CryoCare Foundation is an independent non-profit corporation which subcontracts to service providers for cryonics services. A detailed description of CryoCare's role can be found in our overview , but a brief summary is given here -- along with a description of the signup procedure and fees.

Until June 25, 1999 CryoCare subcontracted with BioPreservation for standby services (awaiting legal declaration of death), for deanimation services (cardiopulmonary support & medications to prevent tissue damage due to lack of oxygen & nutrient) and cryopreservation preparation (blood washout & perfusion with "anti-freeze"). CryoCare subcontracts with CryoSpan for long-term liquid nitrogen storage.

The assets of a CryoCare Member (which pay for liquid nitrogen, storage costs and -- perhaps -- reanimation costs) are held by an independent trust fund. Each CryoCare Member will have an individual offshore trust (assets are not pooled).

The role of CryoCare Foundation is to act as a steward or guardian. CryoCare will act to safeguard the lives of its living and cryopreserved Members by continually evaluating the quality of our service providers -- and intervening (or changing service providers) when necessary.

Included in the CryoCare Membership processing fee is assistance from our Sign-up Administrator with correctly completing the necessary documentation, if such assistance is required. Documentation is essential to ensure that cryopreservation arrangements are legally defensible and financially secure. Those who do not make these arrangements MANY YEARS in advance of legal death are risking having no arrangements whatsoever. Preparing legal documents can take a long time, and financial arrangements like life insurance are best begun before middle-age.

Signup processing fees are as follows:


Signup Processing Fees
Category Description Fee
Adult Age 18 or Older $200
Additional Adult Adult in same family $150
Adult Student Full-time student under age 30 $100
Child Person under age 18 $50

CryoCare Members must pay yearly fees to cover the cost of BioPreservation standby services and to cover CryoCare Foundation administrative costs. Fees may be paid on an annual or quarterly basis. These fees may be summarized as follows:


Yearly Membership Fees
Category Description Annual Quarterly
Adult Age 18 or Older $350 $91
Additional Adult Adult in same family $250 $65
Adult Student Full-time student under age 30 $175 $45.50
Child Person under age 18 $125 $32.50

In addition to sign-up processing fees and annual membership fees, a CryoCare Member must have funds in place to cover the costs of cryopreservation and long-term storage.

For CryoCare Members signed-up for BioPreservation and CryoSpan, the costs for cryopreservation and long-term storage are:

Whole Body $ 125,000
Neuro $ 58,500

Most CryoCare Members arrange for payment by life insurance. The money does not enrich CryoCare -- some is spent on standby and preparation of the patient, but most of the money is kept in a fund to ensure that long-term costs are met through interest (or capital appreciation) from the fund. Members are encouraged to provide more than minimum funding because future costs cannot be guaranteed. A breakdown of the costs is shown below.

INITIAL CRYOPRESERVATION COSTS
PROVIDER SERVICE WHOLE BODY NEURO COMMENTS
BioPreservation, Inc. $ 42,500 $ 40,000 For remote standby, stabilization, transport, cryoprotective perfusion and cooling to -79ºC. For a "false alarm", the Member is billed only for the costs of standby.
CryoSpan, Inc. $ 2,000 $ 500 One-time charge for encapsulation and cooling to -196ºC.
CryoCare Foundation $ 1,000 $ 1,000 One-time administrative fee.

LONG-TERM CRYOPRESERVATION COSTS
SERVICE WHOLE BODY NEURO ANNUAL FEE COMMENTS
Trust Administration $ 2,000 $ 2,000 $ 40 Amounts earned over the annual yield are re-invested.
CryoCare Administration $ 2,500 $ 2,500 $ 50 Amounts earned over the annual yield are re-invested.
CryoSpan Maintenance $ 75,000 $ 12,500 $ 1,500 or $ 250 For liquid nitrogen, dewar maintenance, real-estate costs and ongoing service of replenishment and monitoring. Amounts earned over the annual yield are re-invested.

 

For further information about becoming a CryoCare Member, or for a copy of the sign-up documents, contact our Information Officer:

Randy Smith
Email:




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