Tomorrow Bio is a mission driven organization based in Berlin that provides medical standby, medical biostasis teams, ensures readiness and training, and more.
Tomorrow Biostasis offers cryopreservation program in Europe so you can potentially be revived in the future to live an extended life.
Cryopreservation or cryoconservation is a process where biological material – cells, tissues, or organs – are frozen to preserve the material for an extended period of time. At low temperatures any cell metabolism which might cause damage to the biological material in question is effectively stopped.
At low temperatures (typically −80 °C (−112 °F) or −196 °C (−321 °F) using liquid nitrogen) any cell metabolism which might cause damage to the biological material in question is effectively stopped. Cryopreservation is an effective way to transport biological samples over long distances, store samples for prolonged periods of time, and create a bank of samples for users. Molecules, referred to as cryoprotective agents (CPAs), are added to reduce the osmotic shock and physical stresses cells undergo in the freezing process.
SST capabilities and protocols;
Standby dispatch
Tomorrow Biostasis Standby teams are on call 24/7 to dispatch to you and start the cryopreservation process. After our teams are notified that you are or will soon be legally dead our dispatch procedures will begin. In the images you can see the drive times of the standby team in Berlin and Amsterdam. Each ring represents what the team can reach in an additional 2 hours.
01.
Notification
In most cases of death there is forewarning, in which case you or a loved one can notify us so that a standby team can dispatch to you ahead of your pronouncement. If you pass away suddenly there are several ways we can be notified including your member bracelet, patient advance directive, next of kin, or our emergency app.
02.
Dispatch
Based on your location it will be determined which Standby can reach you faster (there is a team in Berlin, Amsterdam via a partner, and soon in Zurich). Then it will be determined which mode of transport (ambulance or plane) will reach you faster. If you are in Western Europe at the time of your passing, the team will most likely dispatch to you in one of our specially equipped ambulances. If you were to die outside of Europe, a team and all the necessary cryoprotection equipment would be dispatched to you by plane.
03.
Local teams
While a standby team is dispatching, our team at Tomorrow will, whenever possible, coordinate with local resources. This could mean informing medical professionals at the hospital where you were pronounced dead about how to slow degradation processes (placing you in an ice water mixture, performing cardiopulmonary support, etc.). Additionally, we plan to build up a network of teams in Europe who could begin cool-down procedures while the professional standby team is on its way to you.
Cryoprotection begins
Initial cool down
Our standby team will reach you with all medical equipment needed to perform full-body cryoprotection on site. Exact cryoprotection procedures will vary depending on the circumstances of each individual patient. The following procedure description is based on a typical cryoprotection case. Initial cool down starts by placing the patient in an ice water mixture. The patient is then given a range of medications that reduce metabolic load and protect tissues and cells. Cardiopulmonary support is also used to circulate blood and the patient receives oxygen through intubation to keep the body in a stable condition.
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Surgical part
Perfusion
After initial cooling the perfusion of low concentration cryoprotectants begins through aortic cannulation. Perfusion and continued cool down is done with a heart lung machine. As the patient continues to cool, stronger concentrations of cryoprotectant solutions are perfused until the concentration is high enough for vitrification. The final temperature reached during cryoprotection is -76°C (dry ice temperature). At this point the perfusion is stopped and the focus becomes temperature maintenance.
Procedure completion
Transport
Next the team needs to transport you to a long-term care (storage) facility. If the facility is within reasonable driving distance, then you will be transported in the ambulance where cryoprotection was performed. If reaching the facility requires plane transport then the team will pack you with dry ice and insulation to maintain -76°C until the facility is reached. At the long-term care facility you will be further cooled down to -196°C before you are placed in a dewar filled with liquid nitrogen to maintain your temperature indefinitely. Cooling from -76°C to -196°C usually takes a few weeks, because lowering the temperature too quickly can cause significant thermal stress. You will then remain in this dewar with a regular resupply of liquid nitrogen until medical technology has advanced enough to treat you.
facility
Surgery & medical screening
The surgical table on the left is used to perform the cryoprotection. The CT scanner on the right is used for quality assurance in cryopreservation cases.
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Cryogenic dewar
Patients are stored in dewars filled with liquid nitrogen in the underground part of the facility. The dewar pictured above can hold 4 whole body patients and 10 brain-only patients.
Biostasis research lab
Basic and translational research in the fields of biostasis, cryoperservation, and cryobiology is conducted in the facility’s lab.
Cryopreservation is maintained with liquid nitrogen (which is naturally at -196 degrees celsius in liquid form). No electricity is used, which secures patients against power outages and makes long-term maintenance economically feasible. The largest portion of funds are given to a patient care trust called the Tomorrow Patient Foundation (TPF). The TPF puts the cryopreservation funds into very low risk investments that have an annual return of 1-2% above inflation. The 1-2% return covers the running costs of maintenance (such as liquid nitrogen). This ensures that there are always enough resources to keep patients cryopreserved indefinitely, for however long is necessary for revival to be possible.
It is not possible to predict exactly when revival could be possible as significant medical development is still needed. The Biostasis plans with Tomorrow Bio are structured so that our patients can remain cryopreserved indefinitely. Whether it’s 50, 75, 100 years or more, our patients will remain cryopreserved for however long it takes for future technology to advance enough to make revival possible. Biologically, there is no time limit for how long a person can be cryopreserved as all metabolic processes in the body have been paused.