Hope makes the earth go round. In one of its kind case, a Chinese sci-fi author named Du Hong had her brains cryogenically frozen after her death in a hope that in the future, the technology to bring dead people back to life will be created and then she may live again through her brain.

The author herself paid upwards of $120k to have her brain sent from China to Scottsdale, Arizona to undergo a freezing procedure at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. Her sole motivation to do this was her firm belief and strong hope that may be impossible right now, but there would be time in future when advancements in cryonics will one day bring her back to life.

Du Hung had pancreatic cancer and first discovered the concept of cryonics while getting treatment for her cancer. She had also penned a book on the theme of cryonics called ‘The Three Body Problem’. So it was while getting treatment that she came to know about Alcor Life Extension Foundation and was able to know the procedure to get her brain cryogenically frozen. Frequent visits with members of Alcor aided in her decision to have it sent there upon her death.

So before she fell as a victim to pancreatic cancer last May, Du decided that she wanted her brain to be the subject of cryogenic experiments after her death. Though it took some time before the team at Alcor actually conducted the procedure, doctors in Beijing prepped Du’s brain after her official time of death on May 30.

Du’s son-in-law quotes “Mother said that whether [cryonics] would be able to find a breakthrough in the next 50 years remained a mystery, but that she did not mind her remains being used for experiments.” Meanwhile, despite the Alcor Life Extension Foundation agreeing to freeze Du’s brain, the organization has clearly stated that it wouldn’t be the one to actually bring back Du to life in the future.

Scientifically, it is completely impossible to bring someone back to life using cryonics but for Du’s family it is all about hope. The optimism is what keeps Du’s family afloat in their grief. There is a long wait before the technology becomes as advanced as this, but till then Du’s daughter Zhang Siyao prefers to wait for her mother saying: “Mum, let’s meet in the future.”

Author:Technology Blog