Immortalist Society

 24355 Sorrentino Court

Clinton Township, Michigan

48035-3229

"Longevity through technology, education, and research"

Organ Cryopreservation Prize 

(aka "The Cryoprize")

Cryoprize Fundraising Total 

Amount Raised/Binding Pledges  to Date: $3023.13

  

Announcement of Organ Cryopreservation Prize (aka the "Cryoprize"):

The Immortalist Society is pleased to announce the Organ Cryopreservation Prize (the "Cryoprize"). Proposed several months ago by a long time Immortalist Society member, the initial goal of the prize will be to attempt to award a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars, with the prize subject in amount and to conditions as outlined in the rules below. The prize will be awarded to any individual or group of individuals who are able to place certain mammalian organs at cryogenic temperatures and to transplant those organs for a period of nine months and to show, during that time period, proper clinical function of them. The organs in question are the heart, lung, liver, and pancreas. Other organs may be the subject of research leading to the awarding of the prize if approved by the Immortalist Society before the awarding of the prize. Fundraising for this worthwhile endeavor by the Immortalist Society is underway now.

Need and Benefit of Organ Cryopreservation Research:

It is a regrettable fact that each year, the need among seriously ill individuals for organ transplants far exceeds the organs available. Any attempt to increase the capability of organ storage is directly applicable to this important problem. Further, even in the event of the ability to clone and/or grow individual organs, the problem of storage until those organs are needed is still an important one to solve.  Any such work done in the field of cryobiology (low temperature biology), and especially work in this field involving ultra-low temperatures, has direct implications in the area of cryonics. Cryonics organizations are, at bottom, storing human organs and tissues at these same ultra low temperatures. One way to make a positive contribution to this area is in the setting up of a prize for attempts in this field of endeavor.

Information and Some Background on Prizes:

Prizes have a long and interesting history. In the early 1700's the British government established a prize for the first person who was able to find a way to establish the longitude of a ship's position within a certain margin of error.  Later in that same century, the French established a prize for the production of  an artificial form of alkali.  Later on the French, in the form of Napoleon, set up a prize for food preservation that, today, we all benefit from in the form of vacuum packaged foodstuffs that we readily use.

Newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, were involved in the development of the early automotive industry by offering prizes for various races. In aviation, prizes have also played an interesting part. One of the more interesting, and lesser known, was the offer of a series of prizes which led to the development of the Spitfire aircraft. This aircraft wound up successfully battling the Luftwaffe in the fight for freedom in the Battle of Britain during the dark days of early WWII.

Advantages of Using Prizes to Help Attain a Worthwhile Goal:

In general, prizes may allow an important goal to be chosen without having to specify exactly the approach or approaches and/or the particular individuals that are deemed most likely to succeed. Further, the use of a prize allows the organization sponsoring it to pay only for results and not necessarily for the cost of getting to the result. Another good point, and useful factor of prizes, is that they can capture the imagination of the public and change the public's concept of what is possible. 

One of the other positive things about a prize is that the investment needed in order to win a prize is normally quite a bit greater than the prize itself. Another positive point to prizes is that, at times, a prize assumes a life of its own where the winning of the prize and the prestige of winning it assumes a major importance far beyond the actual economic value of the prize or award itself.

Details of the Immortalist Society Cryoprize:

In the case of the Immortalist Society, our current goal is to raise one hundred thousand dollars with a longer term goal that the prize grows to one million dollars or more.It should be noted that any amount raised should be considered as a "floor" and not necessarily a "ceiling". An amount may be raised that is greater than the initial goal of one hundred thousand dollars and, of course, the initial amount raised, whatever amount it may be, will continue to grow through any additional donations plus interest and/or investment returns received down through the coming years. 

Advantage of Prizes Attracting Various Participants:

The one thing about scientific endeavors is that it isn't and, of course, cannot be possible to know ahead of time who will win the prize or just what specific path will lead to the winner's success. In the final analysis,  successful science and technology operates strictly through established scientific laws and principles. Given that fact, as opposed to just one's reputation, past or present achievements, or personal accolades, it can be the case that even smaller competitors may be the most successful ones in any given research project. In a well known example, Samuel P. Langley was well educated and well funded in his attempts to build a heavier than air powered flying machine. Turns out he was ultimately bested in his efforts by two bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio, neither of whom had even graduated from high school.

This isn't to denigrate scientific credentials and experience at all as the field of cryobiology is very, very much a  "science intensive" field to work in. It is important to point out, however, that the prize stands independent of any one individual and/or organization. It is simply offered to help spur on efforts by all competent researchers who wish to do serious work on this deeply important topic.

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To Donate to the Organ

Cryopreservation Prize Fund

(the "Cryoprize") 

(Note: Prize rules may be seen by scrolling down below donation area)  

To make a  donation to the  Organ Cryopreservation Prize Fund, you have several options (Note: Prize rules may be seen by scrolling down):

1)  You can make a direct donation through PayPal by going to their website of www.paypal.com. Make your donation to immsoc@aol.com. You can also use the handy buttons below. Just click on the one you need. Make sure you have the e-mail and password that you use for Paypal readily available. (You can also use Paypal to make a donation with VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. Just look near the bottom at the lower left of the Paypal page that the buttons will take you to. Thanks!)

ONE-TIME DONATION (PAYPAL)

$20 REGULAR MONTHLY DONATION (PAYPAL "SUBSCRIPTION")

REGULAR MONTHLY DONATION (PAYPAL "SUBSCRIPTION") — CANCELLATION

To cancel your monthly subscription, please go to www.paypal.com. You will need to log in your account so make sure you have your e-mail address and Paypal password available!

2) You can use a credit card (VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express) manually just by calling The Immortalist Society at (586) 791−5961. Please have your credit card information handy.

3) You can mail your money order or check to to the Immortalist Society at 24355 Sorrentino Court, Clinton Township, Michigan 48035-3229.

4) You can donate via Facebook by clicking here.

5) Corporations may make a binding pledge of funding by contacting the Immortalist Society, 24355 Sorrentino Court, Clinton Township, Michigan or by calling (586 (791-5961. The proper individuals in the Immortalist Society will contact you as soon as reasonably possible.

It should be noted that donations to the Immortalist Society are  tax deductible  under the United States Federal Tax Code

(For those who came to the donation information by a direct link, more info on the organ cryopreservation prize, and some info on the use of prizes in general, can be had by clicking here. Those interested in reading the rules of the prize may click here.)

Thanks so very, very much for your interest  and help in furthering one of the research aims of the Immortalist Society. Scientific research has been the "mother's milk" of much of the progress of mankind. The determination of thousands of people down through the ages to understand the origins of sickness and death and to fight against these two scourges of mankind have been the reason that so many of us today benefit from the marvelous advances in medical science. Those of us in the Immortalist Society believe that our efforts in setting up the Organ Cryopreservation Prize represent just another step in that long and honorable tradition. By contributing to this effort, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are trying to be of assistance in a very, very worthy cause.

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For those interested in competing for the awarding of the prize, the prize rules are as follows: (NOTE: THESE RULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PREVIOUS NOTICE)

Prize Rules As of Nov. 01, 2018:

The following conditions and requirements shall apply to the awarding of the Immortalist Society Cryopreservation Prize as of Nov. 01, 2018:

1. The prize amount to be awarded has as its current goal a minimum of $100,000. It is ultimately hoped that the prize grows to at least $1 million or more. The prize may consist of both actual monies raised but also may consist of binding corporate pledges. The amount finally awarded shall be determined by any monies actually raised plus savings and investment, if any, of those monies, less reasonable expenses, coupled with the amount of corporate pledges convertible into cash, also less any reasonable expenses.

The prize shall be continually raised in total depending on whatever donations and/or corporate pledges come in. Further, any additional monies accrued by savings and/or investment, less any reasonable expenses incurred, shall be added to the initial prize money. All monies raised shall be subject to savings and investment and general management towards the purposes of the prize as directed by the Board of Directors of the Immortalist Society and any decision of the Board of Directors shall be final.
 
2. The prize monies shall be awarded to the first person or group that successfully and verifiably brings a mammalian heart, lung, liver, or pancreas to a cryogenic temperature (any temperature that can be demonstrated to permit storage of said organ with virtually no change or decay over hundreds of years--typically approximately -120 Celsius or colder) and then verifiably restores it to full function as described further in the rules below. Other complete internal mammalian organs, if approved by the Immortalist Society, may be considered as valid for purposes of winning the award. All organs used in experimental work must be at least ten grams or greater in weight. The Immortalist Society will not accept skin or other "simple" organs for the purposes of the awarding of this prize. Individuals/entities interested in utilizing other organs than those listed above in an attempt to win the prize should contact the Immortalist Society for consideration of their choice.
 
3. Any said organ mentioned in Rule 2 immediately above shall be stored with the entire organ at said temperature for a minimum of three hours.
 
4. Said organ mentioned in Rule 2 shall then be transplanted back into an animal and shall show said organ to be sufficiently non-injured to perform its normal biological function at a clinically acceptable level for a continuous period of not less than nine months after transplantation.
 
5. The research individual or group must verifiably, to the satisfaction of the Immortalist Society, reproduce the positive results mentioned above at least one time after the initial success, using no materials from the initial success OR must provide the method used so that another individual or team can and does duplicate, to the satisfaction of the Immortalist Society, and thereby verify, the procedure using no materials from the initial success. The individual or team attempting to verify and duplicate the initial success can be chosen by the original research individual or group provided that said verification individual or team is acceptable to the Immortalist Society or its chosen representative, if any.

6. All experimental work done shall follow generally accepted principles, laws, and regulations for the humane treatment of experimental animals as are in place in the United States of America and in the State of Michigan during the time of any experiments carried out. The Immortalist Society reserves the right to add to/modify said principles at its discretion insofar as they do not conflict with existing United States laws and regulations or laws and regulations of the State of Michigan.

7.  These rules can be modified or amended at any time by the Immortalist Society or its chosen representative, if any, if it is determined, in their sole discretion, that such modification(s) or amendment(s) is/are needed or desired.
 
8. Applications for the prize must be made by United States Postal Service Certified Mail or a generally equivalent means  and sent to the Immortalist Society or its chosen representative, if any. The rules in place on the date of the receipt of the application shall be the rules governing the awarding of the prize.
 
9. The sole discretion as to the interpretation of the rules, and any matters concerning the Organ Cryopreservation Prize and/or any associated matters whatsoever, shall remain entirely and absolutely with the Immortalist Society or its designated representatives, if any. All decisions that are made by the Immortalist Society or its designated representatives, if any, regarding any aspect of the prize and the award thereof will be final.

10. In the event that the conditions for winning the prize have been accomplished but no individual or organization applies for the prize within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Immortalist Society, the monies raised towards the Cryoprize may, at the discretion of the Immortalist Society, be allocated to any research organization or organizations and/or any individual or individuals engaged in research. The research engaged in by the organization and or individual(s) may or may not be limited to the field of cryobiology at the discretion of the Immortalist Society.
 
11. Should any of the above or future rules be found to violate local, state, or federal law and/or regulations, all the other rules not found in violation shall remain in effect to the degree applicable.



 

 

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