Stories of immortality and resurrection have always fascinated humanity. That is why experiments have been conducted in an attempt to ‘cheat’ death through cryonics. This practice involves preserving a body at extremely low temperatures with the goal of potentially reviving someone who has already died at some point in the future.
The hope is that, once medicine advances and develops more effective treatments for the diseases currently afflicting humanity, such as cancer, chronic illnesses, and others, these individuals can be brought back to life.
Although it may seem "crazy," some institutions currently carry out this process: the Alcor Life Extension Foundation and the Cryonics Institute, both in the United States, and KrioRus in Russia. According to the reported figures, around 350 human bodies are immersed in tanks of liquid nitrogen. They include baseball legend Ted Williams (1918–2002), actor Dick Clair (1931–1988), and pioneering Bitcoin programmer Hal Finney (1956–2014).
It is worth noting that cryogenic methods are used effectively in several situations, such as preserving cells, tissues, and organs for transplants. The cryopreservation of sperm, eggs, embryos, and stem cells, for example, has been successful in some situations, contributing to fertility treatments and medical research.
However, the practice has not yet achieved significant results in human beings. Discussions focus more on ethical, scientific, and practical considerations, and there is still no conclusive evidence of its effectiveness in preserving and reanimating humans.
Skepticism From the Scientific Community
Because this experiment rests on the belief that future science will be able to bring these people back to life, it still does not attract much interest from the public. In addition, there is considerable skepticism from the scientific community, which sometimes classifies this kind of cryonics as quackery that gives people false hope.
Many skeptical scientists and medical professionals argue that the current process is not viable because freezing can cause irreparable damage to cells and tissues. In addition, successful reanimation in the future presupposes medical and technological advances that are currently out of reach.
Another ethical issue concerns the speculative nature of cryonics, since there is no guarantee that resuscitation will be possible or successful. Some people see cryonics as a hope for extending life or finding a cure for incurable diseases, while others regard it as a pseudoscientific practice with little empirical basis.
How Much Does It Cost to Undergo Human Cryonics?
As you might imagine, undergoing a process like this is not at all cheap for patients. Cryonics is still in its scientific infancy and therefore requires very specific and expensive equipment.
The price of this kind of service can reach 1 million Brazilian reais. If the client is looking for a "more affordable" option, they can choose to freeze only the head, and that treatment costs around 400,000 reais.
Is Human Cryonics Available in Brazil?
There is still no Brazilian company that performs cryonic procedures on human beings in Brazil. Among other reasons, this is because Brazilian law does not address cases involving the freezing of humans, so there is no broad legal understanding of how such a procedure should take place.
From a cultural perspective, there are also barriers to the process of human cryonics in our country. The issue affects the fields of bioethics, religion, society, and law, something that certainly hinders discussion of human cryonics in Brazil.
It is worth noting, however, that despite the lack of broad legal understanding of the matter, Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ) determined in 2019 that Brazilian legislation does not completely prohibit cryonic procedures. The institution emphasized that, in the absence of a specific legal provision, judges must make decisions based on analogy, customs, and general principles of law.
Brazilians Who Turned to Cryonics
Some Brazilians turn to clinics outside Brazil that perform cryonics in order to preserve the bodies of deceased relatives. One of the best-known cases is that of engineer Luiz Felippe Dias de Andrade Monteiro, whose family turned to a company based in Michigan, United States, to use the procedure to preserve his body.
Monteiro lived in Rio de Janeiro with his daughter. In 2012, after his death and in accordance with his expressed wishes, his daughter sent him to undergo the freezing process in the United States. But the process was not smooth: two of Monteiro's sisters went to court, arguing that they wished to bury him in the traditional manner. Brazilian courts ultimately decided to keep the engineer's body on American soil.
Another case that recently gained attention was that of software developer Vinicius Vilela, who, at age 29, is already paying to have his body frozen when he dies. The young man is from Osasco, São Paulo, but has lived in Toronto, Canada, since 2019. Vinicius chose Alcor, an American company with many years of experience in this kind of treatment, to perform the cryonic procedure.
Vinicius's situation attracted the attention of TV Globo's "Fantástico," which produced a report about his case. In an interview with the program, the young man said: "Ever since I was very young, since I was a teenager, I have always been someone very attached to life, so to speak. And I have always done a kind of research into how I can live longer, how I can be healthy enough to continue living this wonderful life." To undergo cryonics, Vinicius will have to pay an amount close to R$1 million, which will be paid in installments.
Does This Treatment Have Any Future in Science?
This is a difficult question to answer, but for now there is no scientific proof that human cryonics is effective. Despite the progress observed in studies and experiments involving organs, the possibility of reanimating entire bodies remains distant. The high complexity and costs associated with human cryonics, together with scientific, ethical, and legal challenges, make the practice highly controversial.
For now, cryonics is still unable to cheat death and, unfortunately, perhaps it never will. Although fascinating, the experiment remains confined to works of science fiction.
