Precautions before death

Alcor warns prospective patients that success depends on getting access to their body as soon as possible after they die. Anyone with a terminal condition is asked to move to a hospice near Alcor’s headquarters, where medics and technicians can wait close by, often at the bedside.

There is always the risk of accident or sudden illness killing people before they can get to Phoenix, so all members must wear bracelets telling doctors how to preserve their bodies if they die suddenly.

Ideally, however, as soon as a doctor confirms death, an Alcor team hooks the patient up to machines that drain out blood, replace it with protective chemicals and cool it down. If just the head is being preserved, surgeons make incisions into the upper spine to get access to the carotid and vertebral arteries, and