Cryopreservation Agreement
CryoCare Foundation
1013 Centre Road
Suite 301
Wilmington, Delaware 19805-1297
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This is an Agreement between _______________________________
(the Client), now residing at
_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
and the CryoCare Foundation (CryoCare), a Delaware
not-for-profit corporation, having its principal office and place of
business at 1013 Centre Road, Suite 301, Wilmington, Delaware 19805-1297
The Client declares in this Agreement, in an
Authorization of Anatomical Donation, and in a
Consent for Cryopreservation, his/her intention to have
his/her human remains cryopreserved and placed under long-
term cryogenic care by CryoCare in the hope of possible
restoration to life and health at some time in the future and
for the purpose of the general advancement of scientific
knowledge. This document details the duties, understandings,
and liabilities of the Client and CryoCare regarding the
proposed cryopreservation.
This Agreement is not, and shall bear none of the
incidents of, a trust. After the legal death of the Client,
none of the Client's heirs, successors, assigns, estate or
agents shall possess any equitable interest in the
Cryopreservation Funding after the payment thereof to
CryoCare, or in any of the proceeds of CryoCare's investment
thereof; and CryoCare shall owe no fiduciary duty to the
Client's heirs, successors, assigns, estate, or agents, with
respect to this Agreement.
The representations made herein by CryoCare and by the
Client are mutual representations made by each party with the
intention of inducing the reliance of the other party. It is
expected that both the Client and CryoCare will make
substantial changes in their positions as a result of the
representations made by the other party.
I. Duties of the Client
1. Prior to the acceptance of the Client into
CryoCare's cryopreservation program, s/he shall have properly
executed and provided to CryoCare three (3) originals of the
following documents:
(a) Cryopreservation Agreement, including Attachment(s)
(b) Authorization of Anatomical Donation
(c) Consent for Cryopreservation
(d) Documentation of Cryopreservation Funding in Force
2. The Client agrees to execute any further releases,
consents, or other documents and to include any nonfinancial
provisions in his/her will and/or trust instrument as may be
reasonably required by CryoCare for the effective
cryopreservation of the Client.
3. Through the execution of Attachment 1. Decisions
Concerning The Client's Cryopreservation, the Client will
have chosen a cryopreservation service provider and a long-
term cryogenic care service provider from a list of those
with which the CryoCare Foundation has contractual
arrangements. The Client shall pay to CryoCare a fee, yearly
or quarterly, to help defray the costs of its operation and
to pay the Readiness Fees, if any, of the Client's chosen
cryopreservation and long-term cryogenic care providers. (For
a list of service providers and current fees, see Schedule
A: Service Providers, Required Costs, and Cryopreservation
Funding Minimums).
4. Prior to the acceptance of the Client into
CryoCare's cryopreservation program, s/he shall arrange to
provide CryoCare with a specified minimum amount of funds
(Cryopreservation Funding), payable to CryoCare no later than
60 days after the Client's legal death. Such amount shall be
determined by the Client's choice of service providers from
those listed in Schedule A: Service Providers, Required
Costs and Cryopreservation Funding Minimums. These funds
may be in the form of life insurance, a nonrevocable trust,
or some other arrangement acceptable to both parties. The
Client may, at CryoCare's discretion, remit all or part of
the Cryopreservation Funding in advance of his/her legal
death.
Prior to the acceptance of the Client into CryoCare's
cryopreservation program, and from time-to-time throughout
the life of this Agreement, the Client shall provide CryoCare
with proof that such funding has been arranged and is still
in effect. Failure to provide the full required amount or
failure to provide proof that the full amount of funding is
in effect will result in the cancellation of this Agreement,
as detailed in Section II, DUTIES OF CRYOCARE,
Paragraph 12.
5. The Client may, at his/her discretion, provide
funding above the minimum amount required by CryoCare. This
additional funding may be part of the Client's
Cryopreservation Funding or may be provided in other ways
acceptable to CryoCare. The Client may also create any
outside trusts or other arrangements whereby additional
funding will be available in case of need.
The required Cryopreservation Funding minimums allot a
standard amount for location, recovery, and transport of the
Client's human remains. If funds in excess of these standard
amounts must be expended for these purposes, and if the
Client has only the minimum Cryopreservation Funding, it is
possible that s/he may not be cryopreserved or may be
preserved in a different way from that chosen. It is the
sole responsibility of the Client to provide adequate funds
for location, recovery, and transport of his/her human
remains.
6. In order to ensure CryoCare's timely and appropriate
response to the Client's legal death, the Client should always
inform CryoCare of any change in his/her address, telephone number,
personal representatives, next-of-kin, financial arrangements,
testamentary directions, or of any other such change which might
affect CryoCare.
7. The Client should provide CryoCare with information
concerning his/her medical history including general health
status, nature and extent of any serious chronic or acute
illness and infectious disease history. The Client should
update that information whenever changes occur which might
seriously impact his/her health, well-being or longevity,
including but not limited to pregnancy, cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, asthma, tuberculosis or other lung
diseases, ulcers, or disease of the liver, colon, gallbladder
or digestive system, cancer of any kind, hepatitis, AIDS or
other infectious disease, and epilepsy, depression,
schizophrenia or any mental disease or disorder. The Client
also agrees to (where possible) notify, or cause CryoCare to
be notified, before undergoing any hospitalization (in-
patient or outpatient) and/or any operative procedure
involving the use of any general, intravenous (including
"twilight sleep"), or spinal anesthesia.
These notifications should be promptly provided to
CryoCare not only so that CryoCare and its service providers
can provide the best possible service to the Client at the
time of his/her legal death, and to insure the safety of the
personnel involved in the Client's cryopreservation, but to
avoid the possibility of invalidation of this agreement (see
Articles III and IV below) and the consequent loss of the
Client's life.
8. The Client shall arrange to have appropriate
releases signed by the next-of-kin (and other relatives who
may have claim upon the Client's human remains or estate),
and any individuals who may have Power of Attorney or any
other sort of control over the Client's affairs, person, or
human remains. It is the duty of the Client to ensure in
advance the cooperation of all such persons in performing
their duties. (See Relative's Affidavit.)
9. The Client shall promptly notify or cause CryoCare
to be promptly notified of any serious illness or accident
suffered by the Client, if s/he is capable of providing such
notice. The Client shall make his/her best efforts to ensure
that relatives, physicians, and other responsible individuals
or organizations shall immediately notify CryoCare of the
Client's serious illness or accident if s/he is unable to do
so.
10. The Client acting in propria persona and not by an
attorney, agent, or other legal representative of any kind or
nature may at any time cancel this Agreement by sending a
registered letter, signed by the Client and two witnesses,
stating his/her intention to cancel, to the Board of
Directors of CryoCare. Each witness shall state under penalty
of perjury that 1) to the best of his/her knowledge the
Client is mentally competent and is not acting under undue
influence or coercion, and 2) the witness has no financial
interest or expectancy, present or contingent, in the estate
of the Client or in any funds provided for the
cryopreservation of the Client. Following such a
cancellation, except as CryoCare is the irrevocable
benificiary (see Ariticle II Paragraph 14 below), it is the
Client's responsibility to change any insurance policies,
trust funds, etc., as necessary, in accordance with his/her
wishes.
11. This Agreement may not be canceled by another
person on behalf of the Client, whether or not such person
otherwise has authority to act on the part of the Client. In
the case of any such attempted cancellation, the Client
agrees to remain bound by this Agreement.
12. The Client shall not execute any document,
including a Will, power of attorney, living will, durable
power of attorney for health care, or directive to a
physician, which contains provisions contrary to this
Agreement or to the Authorization of Anatomical
Donation or the Consent for Cryopreservation which
might impede or preclude his/her cryopreservation.
13. The Client understands and acknowledges that this
Agreement supersedes all alternate, ancillary, or back-up
cryopreservation arrangements with other organizations and
that full control of the Client's human remains,
cryopreservation, and possible restoration to life and health
in the future, rest with CryoCare. Such alternate
arrangements shall only take priority if CryoCare releases or
abandons its responsibility for the Client's human remains.
14. For the purposes of the Agreement, "representative"
means the Client's next-of-kin, executor, trustee, Patient
Advocate, or such person of whom the Client may inform
CryoCare in writing.
15. Failure of the Client to fulfill his/her duties in
this Agreement or willful misrepresentation of information
given to CryoCare by the Client may result in the
cancellation of this Agreement by CryoCare, at CryoCare's
option, as described in Section II, DUTIES OF CRYOCARE,
Paragraph 12, or may result in the termination of the
Client's cryopreservation, as described in Section IV,
CONTINGENCIES.
II. Duties of Cryocare
1. Upon acceptance of the Client into CryoCare's
cryopreservation program, the client shall be issued a
stainless steel identification tag and a wallet card, bearing
an 800 telephone number, or, for those outside North America,
a regular number which can be accessed on a 24-hour basis to
facilitate notification of CryoCare in the event of the
Client's illness, hospitalization, or legal death.
2. Upon the legal death of the Client, to the extent
possible and feasible with the funding provided by the Client
as detailed in Section I, DUTIES OF THE CLIENT,
CryoCare will use its best efforts to locate and take
possession of the Client's human remains. CryoCare shall
utilize the services of the Client's cryopreservation service
provider at the earliest stage which is called for in that
provider's contract with CryoCare. (See Schedule B:
Contracts between CryoCare and its Service Providers).
CryoCare shall ensure that the Client's cryopreservation
service provider performs the services which are described in
that contract, including the transfer of the Client at dry
ice temperature (-78.5C) to the Client's long-term cryogenic
care provider and, further, that the long-term cryogenic care
provider performs the services which are described in that
provider's contract with CryoCare. If either of these
providers is unable or unwilling to provide their services,
CryoCare shall make its best efforts to find another
organization to provide those services.
Within the economic and legal constraints detailed
throughout this Agreement, CryoCare shall be responsible for
the maintenance of the Client in long-term cryogenic care
until such time as s/he can be successfully restored to life
and health. After the cryopreservation of the Client,
CryoCare shall use its best judgment to determine the long-
term cryogenic care provider and the care method most likely
to result in the Client's preservation and his/her
restoration to life and health in the future. CryoCare shall
also, in the future, determine the time, the method and the
revival service provider most likely to effect the successful
restoration of the Client to life and health.
3. CryoCare shall specify its yearly fees, the
Readiness Fees of its service providers, and the minimum
Cryopreservation Funding required for the different kinds of
cryopreservation offered by its service providers according
to Schedule A: Service Providers, Required Costs and
Cryopreservation Funding Minimums.
CryoCare cannot guarantee that it will not be necessary
to increase its yearly fees, the Readiness Fees of its
service providers or the minimum Cryopreservation Funding
requirements in the future. Each year on or before October
31, CryoCare will publish a new Schedule A: Service
Providers, Required Costs and Cryopreservation Funding
Minimums and transmit a copy to each of its Clients. If
this new Schedule A is not acceptable or if the Client
wishes to change service providers, s/he shall have until
December 31st of the same year to notify CryoCare.
Otherwise, the new Schedule A replaces the previous
Schedule A and becomes an integral part of this
Cryopreservation Agreement.
4. CryoCare shall disburse from the Client's
Cryopreservation Funding such sums as are required to pay for
services rendered in achieving the cryopreservation, cooldown
to a safe storage temperature, and encapsulation of the
Client. CryoCare shall then transfer the balance of the
Cryopreservation Funding to the Client's account in the
Patient Care Trust.
5. CryoCare does not, itself, invest, maintain, or
manage any funds. Cryopreservation Funding paid in advance of
the legal death of the Client shall be maintained in a
separate account by the Patient Care Trust, until his/her
legal death, for the sole benefit of the Client. Upon the
legal death of the Client, the prepaid funds shall become
part of the Client's Cryopreservation Funding. No prepayment
funds or earnings shall be expended until the legal death of
the Client. (For details concerning prepayment of
Cryopreservation Funding see the CryoCare / Patient Care
Trust agreement in Schedule B: Contracts between CryoCare
and its Service Providers.)
6. CryoCare shall receive from The Patient Care Trust
sufficient income from the Client's account to pay for the
maintenance of his/her human remains in long-term cryogenic
care and for CryoCare's administration and monitoring of that
care. The principal of the Client's account with the Patient
Care Trust may only be used if such use is essential to the
continuance of his/her cryopreservation or if a decision has
been made to attempt to restore the Client to life and
health. (For details see Attachment 1. Decisions
Concerning The Client's Cryopreservation and Schedule
B: Contracts between CryoCare and its Service Providers).
7. Both the quality and quantity of Cryopreservation
Funding provided by the Client will likely have a substantial
impact upon the cryopreservation, the long-term cryonic care,
and the possible restoration of the Client to life and health
in the future. This impact is understood by both CryoCare
and the Client to be as follows:
a) The Client's account in the Patient Care Trust may
become depleted to the point that CryoCare is required to
seek an alternate or lesser quality, lower cost method of
cryopreservation, or seek an alternate method of preservation
(such as chemopreservation).
b) If the Client's account in the Patient Care Trust
becomes exhausted, and no other funding or conservator is
forthcoming, CryoCare may have to conventionally inter the
Client.
8. Due to the radical differences between methods of
preparation and storage used in Neuro-cryopreservation and
those employed in Whole Body cryopreservation, CryoCare
cannot guarantee that cryopreservation or long-term cryogenic
care procedures of equal quality, cost, or effectiveness will
be used with each method.
9. Remote Standby Service (a transport and
stabilization team waiting near the Client when s/he may be
near death) is not provided by CryoCare, but may be provided
separately by the Client's cryopreservation service provider.
(See Schedule A: Service Providers, Required Costs and
Cryopreservation Funding Minimums).
10. CryoCare shall not be responsible for performing any
memorial service(s) which the Client may wish in connection
with his/her cryopreservation. The responsibility for
memorial service(s) lies with the Client's family and/or
personal representatives. CryoCare agrees to cooperate where
possible with the family and/or personal representatives of
the Client in this matter, within the limits of feasibility
and to the extent that the Client's cryopreservation is not
endangered.
CryoCare will not permit public viewing of the
Client's human remains before or after cryopreservation;
although CryoCare is willing to arrange for limited
observation (where such observation does not interfere with
the timely and effective cryopreservation of the Client)
before or during cryopreservation for next-of-kin or other
personal representatives who have signed the Relative's
Affidavit, so that the said person(s) may confirm that the
Client is being cryopreserved. No ceremony or memorial
service of any kind will be permitted in or around the
preparation or care facilities until the Client's human
remains are under long-term cryogenic care. The Client's
family may have any type of memorial service they wish at a
location other than CryoCare's or the service provider's
facilities, although the Client's human remains cannot be
involved. One exception would be that, in the case of a
Client choosing Neuro-cryopreservation, the portion of
his/her human remains which are not cryopreserved may be
returned to the family for burial or cremation, depending
upon the instructions left by the Client. Any costs
associated with such a transfer of the Client's human remains
are the responsibility of the Client and his/her family.
11. CryoCare does not promise to keep the name of the
Client and the details of his/her cryopreservation
confidential unless the Client specifically requests CryoCare
to do so in Attachment 1: Decisions Concerning the
Client's Cryopreservation. CryoCare will not release the
names of the Client's relatives unless those relatives have
given their authorization in a signed Relative's
Affidavit.
Because public discussion of the procedures, techniques,
and problems of cryopreservation are essential to improving
the science of cryopreservation, CryoCare reserves the right
for itself or its service providers to report on and discuss
technical, medical, legal, and logistic details of any
Client's cryopreservation, as long as no personal information
is released which would be likely to specifically identify
the Client or his/her family.
12. CryoCare may cancel this Agreement at any time with
thirty (30) days written notice to the Client if the Client
has not fulfilled his/her duties as stated herein or if the
Client has willfully misrepresented information given to
CryoCare. In such case, or in the case of cancellation by
the Client, within fourteen (14) working days of
cancellation, CryoCare shall return to the Client any
prepayment of Cryopreservation Funding, plus any interest
such prepayment may have earned as well as any pro-rated
portion of any Readiness Fees collected for his/her service
providers, less any reasonable expenses CryoCare may have in
connection with cancellation of this Agreement, not to exceed
1% of the prepaid amount. Except as CryoCare is the
irrevocable benificiary (see Article II Paragraph 14 below),
it remains the Client's responsibility to change any wills,
insurance policies, or other agreements which may be affected
by cancellation of this Agreement.
13. Failure of CryoCare to fulfill its duties in this
Agreement, subject to the specific limitations listed in this
Agreement, and where such failure is not due to the failure
of the Client to perform his/her duties as stated in this
Agreement, shall lead to the following penalties:
a) Where the Client is still living, CryoCare shall
return to the Client any prepayment of Cryopreservation
Funding, plus any interest such prepayment may have earned.
If the failure to perform has been that of a service
provider, then CryoCare shall repay to the Client such
Readiness Fees as CryoCare is able through its best good
faith efforts to collect from the service provider in
question. If the Client has been enrolled in CryoCare's
cryopreservation program for less than a year, CryoCare shall
also return the Client's Sign-up Fee. Under this
circumstance, CryoCare will not charge the Client for any
expenses that it may have in connection with the cancellation
of this Agreement. Except as CryoCare is the irrevocable
benificiary (see Article II Paragraph 14 below), it remains
the Client's responsibility to change any wills, insurance
policies, or other agreements which may be affected by
cancellation of this Agreement.
b) If the Client is deceased and CryoCare has
negligently failed to have the Client cryopreserved, CryoCare
shall pay to the Client's estate the same funds listed in
item a) above. In addition, 100% of that portion of the
Client's Cryopreservation Funding which Cryocare may have
accepted and retained, shall be paid to the Client's estate,
without charges for any of CryoCare's expenses in connection
with any attempted recovery and transport. If negligent,
CryoCare is also liable for an additional $1,000 penalty, to
be paid to the estate of the Client.
If the failure to perform has been that of a service
provider, then CryoCare shall use its best good faith efforts
to collect from the service provider in question 100% of the
fees which have been paid to that provider for any attempted
cryopreservation. There shall be no charge for CryoCare's
efforts to collect and repay such fees.
c) If the Client has been cryopreserved, but CryoCare or
the long-term cryogenic care provider has negligently failed
to maintain the Client's cryopreservation, so that the
cryopreservation of the Client has been terminated, CryoCare
shall be liable for the same charges in item b) above, to be
paid to the Client's estate or other designated person or
organization. It is understood that "Client's estate" may be
interpreted to include any individual or organization which
may be designated by the Client in Attachment 1: Decisions
Concerning the Client's Cryopreservation.
14. If the Client has made CryoCare the irrevocable
beneficiary of life insurance or of a trust as part of the
provision of his/her cryopreservation funding, then wherever
this agreement mentions the changing of life insurance,
trusts, or wills so as to remove CryoCare from benificiary
status, CryoCare promises to do whatever is necessary to
affect that purpose.
III. Representations, Warranties and Limits of Liability
1. Due to the uncertain nature of the current and
future laws affecting human cryopreservation, due to the
possibility of uncooperative relatives, medical personnel,
government officials, or other individuals, and due to the
possibility that the Client's human remains may not be
physically or legally obtainable, CryoCare cannot guarantee
that the Client will be cryopreserved, even if all of the
Client's duties stated herein have been completed.
2. In addition, due to the uncertain nature of human
cryopreservation research, of medical research in general, of
future economic, social, and legal conditions, due to the
possibility that restoration to life and health may not be
possible for hundreds of years, if ever, and due to the
uncertain nature of human development in general, CryoCare
cannot guarantee that the Client will be maintained in
cryogenic care or ever restored to life and health.
3. With these uncertainties in mind, CryoCare warrants
that, once the Client's enters CryoCare's cryopreservation
program, CryoCare will use its best efforts and good faith
judgment to attempt to legally obtain the human remains of
the Client, and to cryopreserve and maintain those human
remains in cryogenic care until, in the best judgment of
CryoCare, it becomes possible to restore the Client to life
and health. CryoCare shall then use its best efforts to
revive and rehabilitate the Client as per Section V,
RESTORATION TO LIFE AND HEALTH of this Agreement.
4. The Client understands and agrees that it may at
some future time become necessary for CryoCare to release
responsibility for the Client's long-term cryogenic care and
revival to another organization, which may have policies
different from CryoCare. CryoCare does not guarantee the
actions or good faith of any such organization. It is the
intent of CryoCare not to release responsibility for care of
the Client's human remains to another organization unless
CryoCare is unable to maintain that responsibility itself.
5. CryoCare does not warrant the success or quality of
any of its procedures or those of its service providers,
current or future. There is no assertion, express or
implied, that cryopreservation will be successful, or even
that there is any significant probability of success. The
probability of success remains unknown.
6. CryoCare does not claim any degree of expertise in
its procedures and decisions nor does it claim that any of
its service providers have any degree of expertise in their
procedures and decisions. There are no experts in the areas
of human cryopreservation, long-term cryogenic care, and
revival; there are no recognized standards to adhere to,
since human cryopreservation, long-term cryogenic care, and
revival are highly experimental and unproven procedures.
7. CryoCare does not warrant that the Client's
cryopreservation will be legally valid or will be unimpeded
by legal process.
8. CryoCare does not warrant that the minimum required
amount of the Cryopreservation Funding will be adequate to
pay for the Client's cryopreservation and long-term cryogenic
care. This amount has been suggested by CryoCare with
consideration to current costs and estimates of future costs.
The actual future costs remain unknown; and some portions of
the current costs, especially those which may arise from the
special legal, medical, and practical circumstances of the
individual Client, or difficulties in transport of the
Client, cannot be known or even estimated in advance. It is
the responsibility of the Client to exercise his/her best
judgment as to what constitutes adequate provision of
resources to achieve successful cryopreservation and long-
term cryogenic care.
9. CryoCare does not warrant that it is or shall ever
be capable of restoring the Client to life and health, or
that the remains of the Cryopreservation Funding in the
Patient Care Trust will be adequate to finance the Client's
restoration. These possible future costs are completely
unknown. The amount of funds that will actually be present
in the Patient Care Trust at such time that restoration to
life and health may become possible is also completely
unknown. It is the sole responsibility of the Client to
determine the amount of funding likely to be required for
successful restoration to life and health in the future.
10. CryoCare warrants only that all procedures
connected with cryopreservation, long-term cryogenic care,
and possible restoration to life and health in the future
will be done with the best techniques available to it at any
particular time, according to the best knowledge and
understanding of its officers, personnel, and advisors and
those of the Client's service providers.
11. CryoCare further warrants that all decisions
regarding the human remains and funds of the Client will be
made with the intention of preserving the biological
integrity of the Client as long as is practically and
economically feasible and as long as any reasonable
possibility exists that the Client may have a chance to be
restored to life and health in the future, according to the
best good faith judgment of its officers and directors.
12. CryoCare shall not be responsible for any problems
relating to the Client's cryopreservation or for any failure
to cryopreserve the Client resulting in whole or in part from
the Client's breach of his/her duties under this Agreement,
or from the failure to cooperate of the Client's next-of-kin,
family, physicians, attorneys, heirs, or executors, or any
medical care facilities treating the Client at or near the
time of the Client's legal death, or where the Client has
executed a document with provisions contrary to the purposes
of this Agreement or to the Consent for
Cryopreservation or the Authorization of Anatomical
Donation, where such failure or such contrary document
makes impractical or impossible the timely and adequate
preparation of the Client for cryopreservation.
13. CryoCare shall not be responsible for any problems
with the Client's cryopreservation or for any failure to
cryopreserve the Client resulting in whole or in part from
occurrences beyond the reasonable control of CryoCare, such
occurrences to include, without limitation, fire, strike,
shortage of materials, act of God, or any federal, state, or
local statutes, regulations or ordinances, or governmental or
judicial directives.
14. Whereas the effectiveness of the Client's
cryopreservation may depend upon the speed with which
preparation is begun after the Client's legal death, CryoCare
shall not be responsible for any problems, damage, or
deterioration relating to the Client's cryopreservation
resulting in whole or in part from (A) the unavailability of
personnel, chemicals, and equipment, where such lack is
beyond the reasonable control of CryoCare or the Client's
service providers; (B) the lack of timely notice to CryoCare
and the Client's cryopreservation service provider of the
Client's death, impending death, or serious illness or
injury; or (C) the Client's distance from the
cryopreservation facility of his/her service provider (or
such other locations where facilities and equipment suitable
for cryopreserving the Client are available) and the legal,
technical, and practical difficulties in transporting the
Client thereto.
15. Where the Client has made ancillary or back-up
cryopreservation arrangements with other organizations,
CryoCare shall have no liability for errors, problems or
failures to perform, arising from such agreements.
16. Therefore, the Client, his/her heirs, assigns, and
any and all persons claiming through the Client, shall hold
CryoCare, its directors, officers, members, hirelings,
agents, and any companies, corporations, or institutions with
which CryoCare may contract, free from any and all liability
in connection with their actions and decisions in carrying
out the purposes of this Agreement, in so far as those
actions and decisions are made in good faith.
IV. Contingencies
1. The Client understands and agrees that any present
estimate of the cost of cryopreservation, long-term cryogenic
care, and possible restoration to life and health in the
future are only tentative. Costs may increase even with
respect to inflation. In the event of such cost increases
following the cryopreservation of the Client's human remains,
CryoCare shall maintain those human remains in
cryopreservation as well as it is able with the earnings from
the Client's account in the Patient Care Trust. If the best
maintenance available is not possible with the sums
available, CryoCare shall use its best judgment as to
alternative methods. These alternative methods may include
(but are not limited to) conversion to neuro-
cryopreservation, storage at higher temperatures than
optimal, or preservation by chemical means.
2. If it becomes impossible for CryoCare to maintain
the cryopreservation of the Client with the sums available or
in the event of a dissolution of CryoCare ("Cryopreservation
Endangerment"), CryoCare shall attempt to find another
organization to continue the cryopreservation. If no other
organization exists which is willing or able to continue the
cryopreservation, then CryoCare shall pursue preservation by
chemical or other suitable means and seek to find a secure
place for the human remains of the Client via conventional
interment or entombment. CryoCare shall provide ninety (90)
days advance notice of intent to cease cryopreservation to
the Client's Patient Advocate, Client's next-of-kin,
executor, trustee, or other such person who may have an
interest in continuing the Client's cryopreservation. If no
agreement is reached after 90 days, cryopreservation will
cease and the Client's human remains will be chemically or
otherwise preserved and interred or entombed as securely as
possible in a conventional manner. Under such circumstances,
CryoCare shall not be liable as long as all decisions with
respect to the treatment of the Client's human remains have
been made in good faith.
The Client understands and agrees that whereas CryoCare
will have been given sole possession of the Client's human
remains upon the Client's legal death, in the circumstance of
intent to cease cryopreservation, CryoCare will have no
obligation to release those human remains to any person
claiming them.
3. The Client may designate as Patient Advocate,
(see Attachment 1: Decisions Concerning the Client's
Cryopreservation) individual(s), organization(s), and/or
institution(s) who may wish to provide financial assistance
for the Client's cryopreservation, maintenance, or revival,
who may wish to assist in transferring responsibility for the
care of the cryopreserved Client to another organization, or
who may be willing to assume responsibility for the Client's
care if legally possible. CryoCare will be responsible only
for the initial communication with the Patient
Advocate, in order to provide information concerning the
Cryopreservation Endangerment. CryoCare has no authority and
takes no responsibility to compel action on the part of such
a Patient Advocate. The mere designation of a
Patient Advocate in Attachment 1 does NOT
constitute such a separate agreement.
4. If the Client has chosen the Whole Body
Cryopreservation method, s/he specifically agrees to the
following Automatic Conversion To
Neuro-cryopreservation:
CryoCare is adamant about maintaining the cryopreserved
Client in Whole Body Cryopreservation if s/he has so
specified in this Agreement and will do everything possible
to fulfill that promise. Conversion of the cryopreserved
Client to Neuro-cryopreservation will be carried out to
protect the cryopreserved Client only where no other viable
alternative for maintaining the Client's cryopreservation
exists.
CryoCare will only provide Whole Body Cryopreservation
to those Clients who are adequately funded for that purpose.
It is conceivable that over the very long time-course during
which the Client may need to be maintained, emergency
conditions may endanger the continued cryopreservation of the
Client. Such emergency conditions may include (but are not
limited to) unforseen costs incurred in the process of
placing the Client into cryopreservation (such as legal
challenges, logistic difficulties, unusual recovery costs,
etc.), inadequate funding (as a result of insolvency of the
trust or insurance company, general economic instability, or
other causes), natural or other disasters, and other legal,
political, or economic emergencies.
Conversion to Neuro-cryopreservation will take place at
the sole and absolute discretion of CryoCare in the event
that in the best good faith judgement of CryoCare such
conversion is essential in order to continue the
cryopreservation of the Client. In the event that conversion
to Neuro-cryopreservation becomes necessary for
economic reasons, CryoCare shall give ninety (90) days
prior notice to the Client's Patient Advocate.
5. CryoCare is not obligated to accept the Client's
human remains or Cryopreservation Funding if the duties of
the Client as described in Section 1, DUTIES OF THE
CLIENT are not completed. In addition, CryoCare may elect
not to accept the Client's human remains and funds if
conditions existing at the time of the Client's legal death
would make it impossible to cryopreserve and maintain the
Client's human remains or would only do so by endangering the
health, safety, or security of CryoCare, its personnel or
other Clients, living or cryopreserved. Some of these
conditions include (but are not limited to):
a) If the Client has a condition or disease which would
seriously endanger the health or lives of CryoCare personnel,
their agents, and/or the Client's service providers'
personnel or their agents.
b) If the condition of the Client's human remains
(because of damage or deterioration) is such that
cryopreservation would be useless or impossible; subject to
the Client's expressed wishes in Attachment 1: Decisions
Concerning the Client's Cryopreservation.
c) If the Client has not provided the minimum
Cryopreservation Funding required; or if subsequent legal
challenges, attempts to acquire the Client's human remains,
or any other pre-cryopreservation circumstances have depleted
the Cryopreservation Funding to less than the minimum funding
required for Neuro-cryopreservation.
d) If a Certificate of Death has not been signed or if
other requirements of law have not been fulfilled by the
Client or by other individuals beyond the control of
CryoCare.
e) If acceptance of the Client's human remains would
place CryoCare in a legal, political, or economic situation
which would seriously endanger the lives of CryoCare
personnel or the personnel of its agents or which would
endanger the continued cryopreservation of its other Clients.
6. CryoCare shall not retain the Cryopreservation
Funding which the Client provides at the time of his/her
legal death without accepting the Client's human remains;
except that CryoCare may retain a portion of the Client's
Cryopreservation Funding to cover the cost of an unsuccessful
attempt to recover or locate the Client's human remains, if
such an attempt is necessary. This may include legal costs.
CryoCare may retain unexpended portions of the
Cryopreservation Funding or a portion thereof only if the
Client has given such instruction in Attachment 1:
Decisions Concerning the Client's Cryopreservation.
7. Acceptance of the Readiness Fees does not in itself
require CryoCare to accept the Client's human remains for the
purposes of cryopreservation, if one or more of the
conditions in Paragraph 5 above exist.
8. If for any reason cryopreservation is deemed
impossible by CryoCare before accepting the Client's
human remains, the Client's human remains shall be retained
by the next-of-kin or other designated person, and the
Client's Cropreservation Funding shall be returned to the
Client's estate or other designated beneficiary, or shall be
retained by CryoCare, depending on the instructions the
Client has given in Attachment 1: Decisions Concerning the
Client's Cryopreservation.
9. If for any reason cryopreservation is deemed
impossible by CryoCare after accepting the Client's
human remains, the human remains will either be returned to
the next-of-kin or disposed of by burial or cremation. In so
far as is possible, this will be done according to the
Client's pre-stated wishes, with the understanding that legal
decisions, logistics, or good sense may require a different
course of action. The remainder of the Client's
Cryopreservation Funding (minus expenses actually incurred in
obtaining the human remains or in attempting cryopreservation
and in disposition of the Client's human remains) shall be
returned to the Client's estate or other designated
beneficiary, or shall be retained by CryoCare, depending on
the instructions the Client has given in Attachment 1:
Decisions Concerning the Client's Cryopreservation.
10. In the event of the dissolution of CryoCare while
the Client is still alive, this contract shall terminate
immediately. CryoCare shall send notice of the termination
of the contract to the Client within ten (10) working days of
the decision to dissolve. All prepaid cryopreservation funds
and all funds held in escrow account shall be returned to the
Client within thirty (30) days of the decision to dissolve,
and CryoCare shall have no further liability for the funds
and/or the person of the Client. It is the responsibility of
the Client to insure that all insurance policies (where owned
by the Client), trust documents, wills, etc. are changed.
If the Client is in cryopreservation, this contract
shall terminate ninety (90) days after notice of intent to
cease cryopreservation has been sent to the Client's next-of-
kin or Patient Advocate. (See Paragraph 2,
above.) The remaining Cryopreservation Funding of those
Clients whose cryopreservations are to cease will be disposed
of by transfer to another organization engaged in human
cryopreservation research or otherwise be disposed of in
whatever manner is mandated by law.
V. Restoration to Life and Health
It is understood, acknowledged, and accepted by the
Client that it is not known if even those persons
cryopreserved under the best of conditions, using the best
technology available at the time of cryopreservation, will
ever be able to be restored to life and health. Further, the
Client acknowledges that there is no way to know in advance
if the Client's cryopreservation will take place under
favorable conditions. Also, at this time CryoCare has no way
of determining in what way(s), if any, future laws may
control the terms and conditions or even the permissibility
of the attempted restoration to life and health of its
Clients from cryopreservation. Given current technological
and legal limitations, and the uncertainties involved in
cryopreservation, any contract executed regarding restoration
of the Client to life and health in the future would be
presently considered unenforceable.
With these limitations in mind, CryoCare represents the
following concerning attempts to restore its cryopreserved
Clients to life and health in the future:
a) Where possible, as aid to restoration, CryoCare
shall maintain records noting the cause of legal death, the
condition of the Client prior to cryopreservation, the
Client's medical records, and a detailed report of the
procedures used for the initial stabilization, transport,
cryoprotective perfusion, cooling, encapsulation, and long-
term cryogenic care of the Client.
Additionally, consistent with financial resources
provided by the Client, and to the extent that such
information is available to CryoCare, CryoCare shall maintain
biographical, personal, and historical information about the
Client, including diaries, personal correspondence,
videotapes, and such other material as may be deemed
pertinent to restoration and rehabilitation of the Client.
The Client understands and acknowledges that CryoCare shall
bear no responsibility for loss of, damage to, or the
incompleteness of such documentation. Further, the Client
understands and acknowledges that CryoCare shall, where
deemed convenient by CryoCare undertake to store or maintain
such documentation in as compact a form as possible (such as
microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape, optical disc,
videodisc, molecular memory, etc.).
b) When, in CryoCare's best good faith judgement, it
is determined that attempting restoration to life and health
is in the best interests of the cryopreserved Client,
CryoCare shall attempt to revive, restore and rehabilitate
the Client. It is understood by the Client that a careful
assessment of the risks versus the benefits of a revival
attempt will be material to determining when to attempt
revival.
It is understood and acknowledged by both the Client and
CryoCare that no procedure is free of risk, and that even
completely secure, continued cryopreservation (were such an
ideal possible) poses risks, such as the psychological harm
that might conceivably result from further time displacement
(social isolation, culture shock, etc.). Thus, any
assessment of risks shall include the overall welfare of the
cryopreserved Client including, but not limited to,
assessment of such factors as the Client's financial, social,
psychological, and physical well-being.
c) CryoCare represents that, in attempting to revive
the cryopreserved Client, the objective will be to restore
the Client to a state of healthy function with retention of
memories, life experiences, skills, and personality (personal
identity).
d) Where it is possible to do so, CryoCare represents
what it will be guided in the revival of the cryopreserved
Client by the Client's own wishes and desires as they may
have been expressed in a written, audio, or video
Statement of Revival Preferences and Desires, which the
Client may at his/her discretion attach to this Agreement.
e) It is understood by the Client that simple clonal
duplication of the Client, wherein a genetic "twin" of the
Client is produced without the Client's memories and personal
identity, shall not be considered by CryoCare to constitute
successful restoration of the cryopreserved Client.
f) Should any given attempt by CryoCare to revive the
cryopreserved Client fail, CryoCare shall, if there are
sufficient resources available and it is otherwise possible,
return the Client to cryopreservation or use whatever
alternative preservation technologies may be available at
that time which, in CryoCare's best judgement offer the
cryopreserved Client continued hope of revival and
restoration.
VI. Decisions to be Made by the Client
In Attachment 1: Decisions Concerning the Client's
Cryopreservation, following this Agreement, the client
will be making a range of choices concerning his/her
cryopreservation.
The Client may change his/her decisions in Attachment
1 at any time by providing CryoCare with an updated,
properly executed Attachment 1: Decisions Concerning the
Client's Cryopreservation. Such updated instructions will
become an integral part of this Agreement.
Other choices or modifications may be added in future
revisions of Attachment 1 or other attachments similar
in purpose may be added without affecting the validity of
this Agreement. Each such change will become an integral
part of this Agreement.
VII. Assignment
CryoCare may assign and/or delegate part or all of its
rights and duties under this Agreement, but only if, before
such assignment or delegation, CryoCare has reasonable
assurance that any such delegate will fully perform its
obligations under this Agreement.
VIII. Miscellaneous
1. The invalidity of any paragraph of this Agreement
shall void only that paragraph and not the entire section or
the entire Agreement.
2. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating
to this Agreement, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by
binding arbitration in accordance with the Commercial
Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association,
and judgement upon the award entered by the arbitrator(s) may
be entered and enforced by any court having jurisdiction
thereof. Additionally, the parties intend that the
arbitrator(s) have power to issue any provisional relief
appropriate to the circumstances, including by not limited
to: temporary restraining orders, injunctions and
attachments. The parties intend that this agreement to
arbitrate be irrevocable, and agree that either party is
entitled to injunctive relief to quash litigation by the
other party which breaches this agreement.
3. This Agreement is reasonably related to the State of
California, and the provisions of this Agreement (not
including the laws of inheritance of the state in which the
Client resides) are to be interpreted and enforced according
to the provisions of the laws of the State of California.
Any lawsuit brought concerning interpretation or enforcement
of this Agreement or concerning the actions of CryoCare or
any other corporation or person regarding the human remains
of the Client shall be brought in a state or federal court in
Los Angeles, California.
4. Any modification or waiver of this Agreement must be
made in writing and signed by both parties.
5. This Agreement shall bind the parties hereto and
their agents, successors, and assigns, including the Client's
estate and the Executor thereof.
6. CryoCare shall be a third party beneficiary of any
agreement between the Client and a Related Individual
relating to the Client's cryopreservation, as well as of any
trust or other agreement entered into by the Client and
relating to financial arrangements for the Client's
cryopreservation.
7. Time is of the essence. The waiver by CryoCare or
the Client of any breach shall not be construed as a
continuing waiver of any subsequent breach. Acceptance of
fee by CryoCare does not waive their right to enforce any
breach of this Agreement.
8. This Agreement shall not become an asset in any
bankruptcy proceedings.
9. If any arbitration, legal action, or proceeding is
brought by CryoCare against the Client to enforce any part of
this Agreement, CryoCare shall be entitled to recover in
addition to all other relief, reasonable attorney's fees and
costs.
10. The headings in this Agreement are for the purposes
of reference only and shall not limit or otherwise affect the
meaning of this Agreement.
11. Whenever the singular number shall appear here, it
shall include the plural, and the neuter, masculine, and
feminine forms shall include each other.
12. This Agreement is executed in counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed an original, and all such counterparts,
taken together, shall be deemed an Agreement.
13. This Agreement supersedes and replaces all prior
CryoCare cryopreservation Agreements.
IX. Approval
Only the Board of Directors of the CryoCare Foundation
has the authority to approve or amend a Cryopreservation
Agreement; and only the Board of Directors may approve
specific individual arrangements. None of these acts may be
performed by any individual agent or officer of CryoCare.
This Agreement is not effective until signed by the Client in
the presence of witnesses and approved by the Board of
Directors of CryoCare.
X. Signature of Client
YOUR SIGNATURE BELOW CONFIRMS YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT:
1. You have read, understood, and consented to all of
the foregoing provisions of this Cryopreservation
Agreement, including Schedule A: Service Providers,
Required Costs and Cryopreservation Funding Minimums and
any other schedules or attachments which may be appended to
this Agreement.
2. Additionally, you have read and understood and have
given all required directions and information for
Attachment 1: Decisions Concerning the Client's
Cryopreservation.
3. You are fully aware of and accept the risks and
limitations explained in these documents.
4. The proposed research procedures have been
satisfactorily explained to you by the officers,
representatives, and/or other personnel of CryoCare.
______________________________ _____________________
Signature of Client Responsible person if Clientis
unable to sign or is
an unemancipated
minor or otherwise
incompetent.
_________________________ _______________________
Date Relationship to Client
__________________(a.m./p.m.)
Time
XI. WITNESSES' SIGNATURES
Two (2) witnesses are required to sign in the presence
of each other and the Client. At the time of signing,
witnesses must not be relatives of the Client, health care
providers of any kind, or officers, directors, or agents of
CryoCare.
YOUR SIGNATURE AS WITNESS CONFIRMS YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT:
1. You have witnessed the signature of the Client on
this document and on Attachment 1: Decisions Concerning
the Client's Cryopreservation
2. The Client has represented to you that s/he has read
and understands and agrees to the purposes and terms of this
document.
3. The Client has declared to you that cryopreservation
constitutes his/her last wish as to the disposition of
his/her body and person after legal death.
WITNESSED THIS _______ DAY OF _____________________,
19__________
TIME ______________(a.m./p.m.)
1. signature
___________________________________________________
Printed
___________________________________________________
Address
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
2. signature
___________________________________________________
Printed
___________________________________________________
Address
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
XI. CRYOCARE APPROVAL
THE UNDERSIGNED ACTING BY AND FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE CRYOCARE FOUNDATION, THIS ______ DAY OF
______________, 19_________ HEREBY APPROVE THIS AGREEMENT.
________________________
Brian Wowk, President
Seal
_________________________
Member, Board of Directors