Cryonics Institute

Cryonicist David Ettinger: Take Steps and Be Prepared!

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David EttingerDuring my recent visit to the Cryonics Institute I had the chance to do a video tour of CI and learn more about its vitrification procedures and membership policies. I also had the unique opportunity to interview David Ettinger, whose father Robert Ettinger is the “father of cryonics” because he pretty much started the field with his seminal book The Prospect of Immortality. I was also happy to interview David for my podcast because we had not only an informative but also a very frank and deeply personal interview about his own story and motivation.

During our 1 hour discussion with David Ettinger, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: what is CI, how and why he got involved in it; how his father – Robert Ettinger, came up with the idea of cryonics; my wife’s journey to embracing the idea and my evil plan to sign up the rest of our family; the definition of cryonics and the process of vitrification; why people are often cryo-convinced but unfortunately not cryo-committed; prices and procedures for joining the Cryonics Institute as well as options for people outside of the US; the slow pace of progress in cryo-biology and related research; betting on life vs betting on death; volunteering and the CI business model; David’s take on transhumanism and the technological singularity…

My favorite quotes that I will take away from this interview with David Ettinger are:

Being frozen is a horible thing, it’s just that the alternative is even worse.

[…]

If you’re counting on something other than cryonics extending your life, you are not covering your bets.

As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon.

 

Who is David Ettinger?

ETTINGER, DAVID - high resolution pictureDavid Ettinger is an attorney, a founding member of the Cryonics Institute and the son of Robert Ettinger, the founder of the cryonics movement. David has served as CI’s attorney since 1977, and has been an advocate and spokesperson on cryonics issues since he was 15 years old (when he did his first television interview on the subject).

In his “day job”, David is an antitrust lawyer who has litigated a wide range of major cases in more than 30 states. Among his achievements, David may be the only lawyer in the United States who has won antitrust merger cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.

Andy Zawacki Gives Us A Tour of the Cryonics Institute

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Chief Operations Officer Andy Zawacki guides us through a tour of the Cryonics Institute (CI) facility as well as the whole process of cryo-preservation – from the moment that legal death is declared to the moment patients are placed in long term storage.

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What is the Cryonics Institute?

Cryonics InstituteThe Cryonics Institute is a non-profit, membership-based organization founded in 1976 by Robert Ettinger, “The Father of Cryonics.” CI’s goal from the beginning has been to offer the best available Cryonics services to the public at an affordable cost. Since our founding, CI has been a leading force in the cryonics movement, advancing research, education and public awareness. CI hosts an active and engaged community of more than 1,100 members world-wide.

 

Who is Andy Zawacki?

CI Director Andy Zawacki is also the Chief Operations Officer and secretary of the Cryonics Institute. Some of his responsibilities at CI are processing membership sign-ups, preparing documents for members, membership database entries, facility & patient maintenance, preparing cryostats for service and patient suspensions.

Andy Zawacki has been working for the Cryonics Institute since 1985. The largest cryostat was built by Andy with the help of his brother-in-law. It incorporates features much superior to our original models, and holds fourteen whole-body patients.

When speaking of his commitment to CI, Andy says “I am both a funded suspension member and an employee of CI which gives me incentive to want to help CI to prosper from both a personal and professional point. I have already served one term on the CI board and I am deeply involved with the day to day operations and member relations at CI. My daily involvement and contact with our membership puts me in a unique position to spot things that others may not, which I believe adds value to CI’s board of directors.”

 

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