Cryopreservation: Wealthy People Preserve Their Bodies in Labs Hoping to Come Back to Life in the Future

New Delhi : In a quest to defeat death, some wealthy individuals are turning to a futuristic process known as cryopreservation — where human bodies are frozen at ultra-low temperatures with the hope of being revived many years or even centuries later. An American cryonics company, Alcor Life Extension Foundation, is at the forefront of this effort. The organization is storing the bodies of deceased individuals in specially designed labs at a temperature of -196°C, using liquid nitrogen. These bodies are preserved with the belief that future medical technology might be able to bring them back to life. So far, the company has cryopreserved around 230 bodies in the U.S., and about 500 worldwide. The facility employs approximately 1,400 people. The cost of preserving a full body is about $220,000 USD (₹1.8 crore), while storing only the brain costs around $80,000 USD (₹66 lakh). Before freezing, the body’s blood is replaced with a cryoprotectant solution to prevent ice crystals from damaging cells and tissues. The preserved bodies are then stored in vacuum-insulated metal containers filled with liquid nitrogen.

These individuals hope that one day, science will advance to a level where death is reversible — and they might get a second chance at life.