Can a human be frozen and brought back to life?
We usually see such scenes in movies: people easily get frozen (this is called "cryosleep") to wake up years after. Time doesn't affect movie characters and, after getting unfrozen, they are still young and healthy. But is it possible in real life?
The science behind it does exist and the application of the practice is called cryonics. It’s a technique used to store a person’s body at an extremely low temperature with the hope of one day reviving them. This technique is being performed today, but the technology behind it is still in its infancy.
We do not have the technology to freeze people and then to bring them back to life nowadays. Water in our cells will expand and cause problems. The expansion of water as it freezes can rupture cells, causing irreversible damage. This breaking of cells during freezing is responsible for much of the damage that occurs when someone gets frostbite.
More Info:
scienceline.ucsb.edu
What are your thoughts on this subject?
155 Comments
Carol Southwood
What about frozen embryos?
Michael L Reinhardt
According to this, the answer is no, but actually it is yes. It has already been done.
royalsfan
What about them?
James Mohn
People have been killed by freezing to death and then brought back to life. The question was too ambigous to answer it correctly. As the question is asked, both answers are correct. Doubt this, see the following link: Frozen Boy: 10 Years After Being Brought Back To Life
Michael L Reinhardt
Chris Lee that is all you will find about it. Fact is on July 23, 2002 the CIA had there first successful cryosleep experiment when they were able to wake a frozen subject by slowly thawing him out and draining the nonfreezing fluid from his body and running blood back into his body. While they did have to drain his blood and replace it with this fluid, they were still able to wake him. I have a book that has this document in it. He was frozen for 3 months.
Bets Deere
Great question, how does freezing embryos not destroy them?
Karen Mulhollem
if that were true Walt Disney would be back with us!
Tim Cadwell
I thought i seen walt right down the street at the seven 11
Bill Coe
Missi Speth She was not "frozen" and brought back to life. Her body temperature had dropped from 98.6 to about 75 degrees. That is a LONG way from being FROZEN.
Tom Young
They use cryogenic protectant, kind of like antifreeze to protect the cells from damage.
fdeisner
I see these comments are from 7 years ago.
This this has recently happened "The Alabama Supreme Court ruling that granted legal personhood to frozen embryos puts a new spotlight on states with laws that confer rights on embryos from the moment of fertilization".
If a frozen embryo is now destroyed the person could potentially be charged with murder in Mississippi. This came about when a worker in Fertility clinic accidentally picked up a Frozen tray with embryos and burnt his hand dropping the tray and destroying the embryos. There are people that want to charge him with multiple counts of murder. In my opinion this is totally absurd.
Texas now has laws saying that a fertilized embryo AKA fetus is removed by a doctor both the doctor and the mother can be charged with murder. This is even if it is a non-viable fetus that will not make it to the full 9 month term and will be stillborn. Even if it is threatening the life of the mother they cannot remove the fetus until she reaches sepsis and is almost dead.
These laws are made by people, mostly men, without any medical background but are basing it totally on religious beliefs. The right should be left up to the doctors and the mothers and not politicians.
Cheryl Love
Carol Southwood, freezing a human body is orders of magnitude more complicated than freezing an embryo, and the knowledge and technology to do that doesn’t exist.
snowballs
So the answer is yes under the right circumstances 😵💫
David Garrett
Michael L Reinhardt, That's why I put yes too!
james parrillo
Michael L Reinhardt, Maybe, you could try commenting and putting two words of the title in each comment, instead of the whole name together. That might not register enough to be deleted. Thank you, Christine, James' wife
james parrillo
Mike Barney, Thank you for serving. I wish that people did not have to train for war. Christine, James' wife
Barb Schmidt
though many still think theoretically, as they dont know rea; reality from fiction and much more ...
Denny Quigley
Children can be frozen for a significant period of time and still be revived. The difficulty with cryosleep is as you thaw out ice crystals form and destroy the surrounding tissue.
Elsy O. Stromberg
Sally Hancock, Don't think they were dead. Probably close to death.
Howard Groopman
Carol Southwood, Argue the point if you must, but an embryo is not legally a human.
Denise Currie
Wow controversial, some great replies here though. I enjoyed reading through them all.
elizawheeler
People has died from being in freezing water and brought back. Also, just because it hasn't been successfully done in a planned way (cryogenics) doesn't mean it can't be done. There is a difference between it can't be done and it can't be done yet.
David Ching
The question did not mention cryogenics. It is therefore unfair.
Tony Ririnui
Karen Mulhollem, it says brought back from a frozen state, not dead!
Keith Richard Mears
The question is very poorly worded, once again the reviewers that are more concerned with full stops and commas than actual content must have passed this question.