What was the process called?

Answer 1

Cryonics attempts to use cryogenic temperatures to preserve brain structure without damage. Rather than freezing, body water is replaced by cryoprotectant compounds. Body tissues are best preserved if a team of people can be standing by the bedside of a terminal person and begin cooling and restoration of circulation immediately following legal pronouncement of death. After initial cooling to near-zero temperature, cryonics organizations replace body water with anti-freeze (vitrification) compounds to prevent ice damage. So it is incorrect to refer to cryonics as "freezing" or "frozen".

There are two large cryonics organizations in the United States: Alcor and the Cryonics Institute. There is also a cryonics organization in Russia: KrioRus. There are also some smaller or more specialized organizations. Details on the differences can be found in the "comparisons" link below, but these are the organizations that offer cryonics services.

The goals of cryonics are to preserve humans and animals in cryogenic temperatures for decades or centuries (if necessary) until the technology exists to repair all of the damage that must be repaired to restore the humans or animals to youthful healthy life. Because people who are cryonically preserved are generally old and diseased, an essential part of cryonics working is that all diseases will have been cured and that people can be rejuvenated to a youthful condition. Cryonics is viewed as an ambulance (or time-capsule) to future medicine. Although cryonics may not work, there is also a chance that it will work, and if it does, the payoff will be hundreds or thousands of years of youthful life in an exciting future world.