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Europe's first cryonics lab freezes patients for future revival
A Berlin-based startup, Tomorrow.Bio, is preserving bodies at -196°C with the promise of future resuscitation, despite no proven success in reviving humans. The service costs $200,000-comparable to a luxury car-and has already signed up nearly 700 clients.
How the process works
When a patient is legally declared dead, Tomorrow.Bio dispatches a specialized ambulance to begin cryopreservation. The body is cooled to sub-zero temperatures and infused with a cryoprotective fluid-a mix of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethylene glycol-to prevent ice crystal formation, which would destroy tissue.
Co-founder Emil Kendziorra, a former cancer researcher, explains the procedure: "Once you've replaced all water in the body with the cryoprotective agent, you cool it rapidly to -125°C, then slowly to -196°C." At this temperature, the body is transferred to a long-term storage facility in Switzerland, where it remains indefinitely.
Scientific doubts and ethical concerns
Critics argue cryonics is scientifically unproven. Clive Coen, a neuroscience professor at King's College London, calls the concept "preposterous," citing the lack of evidence that complex organisms like humans can be revived without severe brain damage. He dismisses claims that nanotechnology or brain-mapping (connectomics) could bridge the gap, labeling them "overpromises."
Coen also warns that cellular decomposition begins immediately after death. Even if a body is later warmed from cryopreservation, "all the damage that occurred post-death would restart." He advocates for cryogenics-the preservation of tissues and organs for medical use-as a more realistic alternative.
"Cryonics is a misplaced faith in antifreeze and a misunderstanding of biology, physics, and death."
Clive Coen, Professor of Neuroscience, King's College London
Growing interest despite uncertainties
Tomorrow.Bio has cryopreserved "three or four" humans and five pets to date, with plans to expand operations to the U.S. in 2025. The Cryonics Institute, a U.S.-based organization founded in 1976, reports 2,000 sign-ups and 263 bodies in suspension, noting steady growth in recent years.
Kendziorra acknowledges the lack of successful human revivals but draws parallels to early skepticism around organ transplants. "Taking one heart and putting it into another human sounded weird at first," he says. "Now we do it every day." He points to studies on roundworms (C. elegans) and rat kidneys-revived after 100 days of cryopreservation-as proof of concept, though human applications remain untested.
Who signs up-and why?
Most of Tomorrow.Bio's clients are under 60 and fund the procedure through life insurance. Louise Harrison, 51, describes her decision as "driven by curiosity."
"I was fascinated by the idea of possibly being restored to life in the future-it seemed like a form of time travel. Having a small chance of coming back versus no chance at all seemed logical."
Louise Harrison, Tomorrow.Bio client
Harrison pays $87 monthly for membership and insurance. She acknowledges the skepticism but remains undeterred: "People say, 'Everything and everyone you know will be gone.' But we lose people all the time and still find reasons to keep living."
Ethical dilemmas and future goals
Ethical questions loom over cryonics, particularly regarding the storage of brains and bodies for centuries. Kendziorra argues that personal choice should prevail: "The freedom to decide for yourself trumps other ethical considerations." He compares the $200,000 cost to the price of a "second superyacht" for the elderly, framing it as a rational investment in a potential second life.
Tomorrow.Bio has set ambitious targets: preserving neural structures (memory, identity, personality) within a year and achieving reversible cryopreservation by 2028. Kendziorra admits the probability of success is uncertain but insists it's "higher than cremation."
The bigger picture: Life extension and death
Cryonics is part of the broader life-extension movement, which includes longevity research and "resurrectionist" experiments. Some doctors, like one in New York in 2012, have achieved higher-than-average resuscitation rates after cardiac arrest, fueling hopes of reversing death.
Yet, as Coen notes, practical advancements beyond lifestyle changes (exercise, diet) remain limited. For now, cryonics remains a gamble-one that its proponents believe is worth taking.
