The main trade off, I think, is whether we view cryonics as a medical procedure or a universal human right. Your numbers seem spot-on if we’re trying to prevent every single death, and pessimistically assuming that cryopreservation must be done immediately after death.
If instead this is simply a medical procedure for those that can be saved (such as current treatments for heart attacks—rushed to a hospital, but without any special standby), or something that people routinely volunteer for when their health is failing, then you’ll be eliminating a large chunk of those costs.
Equally, if vitrification is shown to be effective even a few hours after death, then much of the expense from urgency disappears.
It’s also worth noting, as Isparrish pointed out, cryonics can simply move money around that’s already being spent—a heart attack patient is going to be rushed to a hospital regardless of whether or not cryonics is an option. Maybe people will be less blase about death thanks to the prospect of immortality, but right now people risk death due to heart attack, smoking, and a myriad of other ostensibly preventable causes. On the other hand, if they’re less blase, they’re probably also willing to spend more on it :)
Thank you for the very insightful response!
The main trade off, I think, is whether we view cryonics as a medical procedure or a universal human right. Your numbers seem spot-on if we’re trying to prevent every single death, and pessimistically assuming that cryopreservation must be done immediately after death.
If instead this is simply a medical procedure for those that can be saved (such as current treatments for heart attacks—rushed to a hospital, but without any special standby), or something that people routinely volunteer for when their health is failing, then you’ll be eliminating a large chunk of those costs.
Equally, if vitrification is shown to be effective even a few hours after death, then much of the expense from urgency disappears.
It’s also worth noting, as Isparrish pointed out, cryonics can simply move money around that’s already being spent—a heart attack patient is going to be rushed to a hospital regardless of whether or not cryonics is an option. Maybe people will be less blase about death thanks to the prospect of immortality, but right now people risk death due to heart attack, smoking, and a myriad of other ostensibly preventable causes. On the other hand, if they’re less blase, they’re probably also willing to spend more on it :)