Keep in mind that Alcor faces the following challenges: (1) Concern about lawsuits harming their future financial stability. (This is not a threat to patients already in cryo-suspension since funding sustaining them is in a separate legal entity from Alcor.) (2) They often have to make very fast decisions about what to do when a patient legally dies. (3) Sometimes family members go against the wishes of the patient. Alcor tries to structure everything to minimize the harm of these three challenges. Note, I’ve been an Alcor member for more than 15 years.
An agreement where a patient’s wife has to approve what happens is perilous because approval given by telephone might not give Alcor legal protection if the wife later says she didn’t agree so Alcor (I’m guessing) would want the wife to submit a notarized agreement, but such a submission would take time and so makes a full recovery less likely. Alcor has to consider the possibility that your spouse is filled with secret disgust at your wanting to be cryopreserved and would love to sue Alcor.
Keep in mind that Alcor faces the following challenges: (1) Concern about lawsuits harming their future financial stability. (This is not a threat to patients already in cryo-suspension since funding sustaining them is in a separate legal entity from Alcor.) (2) They often have to make very fast decisions about what to do when a patient legally dies. (3) Sometimes family members go against the wishes of the patient. Alcor tries to structure everything to minimize the harm of these three challenges. Note, I’ve been an Alcor member for more than 15 years.
An agreement where a patient’s wife has to approve what happens is perilous because approval given by telephone might not give Alcor legal protection if the wife later says she didn’t agree so Alcor (I’m guessing) would want the wife to submit a notarized agreement, but such a submission would take time and so makes a full recovery less likely. Alcor has to consider the possibility that your spouse is filled with secret disgust at your wanting to be cryopreserved and would love to sue Alcor.
Also: what if wife cannot be reached by phone, and the clock is ticking?