As Biostasis2022 draws nears, Tomorrow Bio has been producing a series of interviews and articles to introduce our readers to key individuals in the cryonics community. These individuals have been essential in forwarding research and developments within the sector. Today, we would like to introduce to you International Cryomedicine Experts (I.C.E.) co-founder, Aaron Drake.
Getting to Know Aaron Drake
Aaron Drake started out working as a paramedic firefighter in Lincoln, Nebraska from 1992 to 2006. In 2009, he began to work for Alcor Life Extension Foundation as their Medical Response Director until 2016. There, he provided his expertise for standby teams (SST) both in the United States and overseas. He eventually became a Medical Response Consultant for Alcor at the same time he helped establish the Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute in Jinan, Shandong, China back in 2016. The institution is both a research center as well as a long-term care facility for both humans and animals. There, Drake worked as the Director of Research and Chief Specialist where he directed efforts towards medical hypothermia research.
ICE and Work Overseas
Over the course of his career, he met and befriended fellow cryonicist Eric Vogt. With their combined experience as paramedics and interest in cryonics, the two founded the I.C.E. in 2017. The company provides SST services for cryonic providers such as Alcor and the Cryonics Institute. Unlike Tomorrow Bio where we include our SST teams as part of our all-inclusive cryopreservation plan, most other companies rely on third-party SST services. By not including the SST services, it can help to reduce the cost of cryopreservation. For cryonics members, it means that they will need to contact and arrange standby services on their own.
In addition to his work with I.C.E. and as a medical consultant, he is the managing director for the Arizona Medical Sciences. His responsibilities include providing consultation for organizations in industries related to medicine and science, particularly those that utilize hypothermia to maintain cellular viability. This covers a wide range of areas including organ transplantation, organ banking, and whole body, organ, and tissue preservation at cryogenic temperatures.
On top of this, he is also a medical consultant for Cryonics4U, an advisory service company based in Thailand. The company provides consultations for anyone interested in cryopreservation and cryonics. They also inform clients as to which cryonic memberships to consider joining, available facilities, and advice on choosing the right insurance policy for this service. Over the course of Aaron’s career, he has participated in over 80 cryopreservation cases, including Matheryn Naovaratpong or Einz, the youngest patient ever to be cryopreserved to date. It’s safe to say that Aaron is an expert when it comes to cryonics in practice!
Previous Biostasis Conference
Biostasis2020
Aaron has presented at previous Biostasis conferences. In 2020, he presented on the intersection of life-saving medicine and life-saving cryonics. He outlined the history of cryopreservation procedures, the struggles that the standby teams face, and the impact on the quality of the procedure itself. The attitude towards human cryopreservation sciences has changed recently, with more medical professionals aware of how advancing these techniques could also bring greater developments in medicine. In addition, more medical experts are part of standby teams, where as previously, these teams relied on volunteers.
“There’s this development, this evolution of what medical professionals are seeing, and they're becoming a lot more accepting of that.”
To achieve greater acceptance in the medical community and benefit clients, he believes that companies and practitioners should utilize ECMO (Extra Coporeal Membrane Oxygenation). This is an external cardio and pulmonary bypass where an individual can be kept alive for extended periods of time by mechanical means. The concept behind this is that this device will allow patients to be kept alive on ECMO for up to 60 days or more. This technology could benefit patients who want to undergo cryopreservation, and is already being utilized in China. The first patient in China to benefit from this advanced procedure was Liu Aihui, where ECMO was used while she was being transported from Tai’an Central Hospital to Shandong Yinfeng. He believes that this is essential to the intersection of life-saving medicine and live-saving cryonics.
Biostasis2021
At Biostasis2021, Aaron discussed expanding cryonics to the global market, focusing attention to the East. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in regional storage companies, such as Southern Cryonics in Australia, and Tomorrow Bio in Europe, all in various stages of development. He asked how technologically advanced these companies are, and recounted his experience working with the Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Foundation in China. He highlighted the history of the organization, the expansion of their services, and their first cryopreservation case. Focusing on this, he remarked how effective the organization’s efforts are to bring a human element to the procedure. At Shandong Yinfeng, the organization allows family members to watch the cryopreservation procedure so that they can have both closure with their loved ones, as well as understand what happens to them. In addition, they also allow funeral services at the facility. At the time of the presentation, they already had 12 patients in their storage facility.
Conclusion
Aaron’s efforts in developing the infrastructure for cryonics internationally is essential to making this service more readily available. In addition, his efforts have helped to improve the sector’s reputation in the wider medical and technological community. We are looking forward to hearing from him at Biostasis2022, and learn more about his efforts in the industry.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Biostasis Conference speakers, we have interviews and articles with past speakers including Dr. Ramon Risco Delgado, Prof. Dr. João Pedro de Magalhaes, David Wood, and more! Want to join Biostasis2022? Check out the Biostasis2022 website for tickets, and information about the speakers and the program.
