Market Challenges And Opportunities

Cryosleep Market Drivers:

Increasing life expectancy: Increasing life expectancy across the world is one of the key factors driving interest in cryosleep and pushing growth in the cryosleep market. As per the recent World Population Prospects report by the United Nations, the global average life expectancy has risen from 64.2 years in 1990 to 73.2 years in 2019. Countries like Japan, Switzerland, and Singapore have life expectancies over 80 years already. More people living longer also means higher chances of developing terminal or incurable diseases. This is resulting in more individuals exploring cryopreservation as a possible life extension method. Cryonics companies claim that cryosleep can preserve someone who is clinically dead with the hope that future medical advances may be able to revive them and potentially cure them. While controversial, the promise of living forever or a second chance at life through future medicine is attractive for those facing terminal illness or death. The number of people signing up for cryopreservation with these companies has steadily risen over the past decade. For example, the U.S. based Cryonics Institute saw their patient list grow from 124 in 2000 to 254 in 2020. Similar trends have been observed in Europe and East Asia as well, with countries like Russia and China emerging as new hotspots.
Advances in cryopreservation techniques: Advances in cryopreservation techniques are enabling groundbreaking possibilities that are driving significant interest and growth in the cryosleep market. As scientists continue to gain a deeper understanding of how to successfully cryopreserve living organisms and tissues at ultra-low temperatures, it opens the door to potentially revolutionary applications. One area seeing tremendous potential is in the medical field. Improved cryopreservation of tissues, stem cells, and even entire organs could help address shortages and enable new treatments. For example, preliminary research suggests cryopreservation may help make kidney donations from living donors safer by preventing injury from transplantation. If proven successful in clinical trials, it could increase the number of available kidneys for patients waiting on donor lists according to data from the WHO (World Health Organization). Cryopreservation also shows promise for banking umbilical cord blood stem cells from newborns. Currently, over 80% of cord blood donations worldwide are discarded due to insufficient stem cell yields, but cryopreservation techniques may help expand stem cell banking and enable more cures down the road, based on statistics from the World Marrow Donor Association.
Growing interest in cryonics: Growing interest in cryonics among people is a key factor driving the growth of cryosleep market. More and more individuals, especially those diagnosed with terminal diseases, are opting for cryopreservation with the hope that future medical advances may be able to revive and cure them. According to studies by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, over 200 people have already been cryopreserved globally, and the numbers are rising steadily each year. With Hollywood movies and pop culture portraying the possibility of long term human freezing and revival in the future, the concept of cryonics is capturing the public imagination. Many wealthy entrepreneurs and business owners have publicly announced plans for cryopreservation post death. For example, according to the American Cryonics Society database, over 70 high net worth individuals have signed up for cryopreservation in recent years. This injects significant funds into the cryonics research. Growing government approvals and new regulations defining the legalities of cryonics in various nations are also encouraging its acceptance. For instance, the U.K. parliament recognizing cryonic procedures as legal and allowing the formation of cryonics institutes is a big boost.
Availability of private cryopreservation facilities: The availability of private cryopreservation facilities is enabling more individuals to seriously consider cryopreservation as a means to potentially cheat death through future medical advances. As the science supporting vitrification techniques and long-term storage stability continues to progress, individuals who can afford such services are opting into private cryonic storage arrangements at steadily increasing rates.

Companies offering private cryopreservation services are building or expanding existing facilities to accommodate growing demand. For example, the Alcor Life Extension Foundation recently completed a significant expansion of its facility in Arizona, adding dozens of new cryostorage tanks. This expansion was fueled largely by a surge in new sign-ups over the past five years. As more private options open their doors and demonstrate lifespan storage success stories even 20+ years after the fact, interest and trust in the potential of modern cryopreservation increases. Younger generations in particular see cryonics as a reasonable "better safe than sorry" investment given ongoing progress in fields like regenerative medicine and molecular repair.

Cryosleep Market Opportunities:

Scope for R&D in optimization of cryoprotectants: The cryosleep market has shown significant potential for growth over the past decade due to emerging medical applications of low-temperature suspended animation. However, current methods of cryoprotectant usage that aim to prevent ice formation at subzero temperatures during cryostorage still have limitations. Optimization of cryoprotectants could pave the way for more effective and reliable cryosleep procedures. Extensive R&D in designing newer generations of cryoprotectants that can provide robust freezing tolerance without toxicity issues would help address current shortcomings. This presents a major opportunity for stakeholders to capitalize on by investing in advanced cryoprotectant R&D. Promising avenues of research include developing amphiphilic polymers as potential cryoprotective agents. Preliminary studies show some polymers can interact with cell membranes in a way that imparts freeze tolerance with fewer side effects compared to conventional cryoprotectants (Science 2020). Further refining such polymers through systematic structure-property evaluations could lead to breakthroughs that enhance cryoprotectant efficacy and biocompatibility. R&D could also focus on gaining deeper insights into biological mechanisms of freeze protection at the molecular level through low-temperature microscopy and cryo-physiology analysis. This would aid rational design of customized cryoprotectants matching different cell and tissue-types.
Potential for preservation of brain only: Brain-only preservation, also known as neuropreservation, could open up major new opportunities for growth in the cryosleep market. Currently, whole body cryopreservation still faces many technical challenges to survive freezing and thawing without extensive physical damage. However, the human brain on its own may be better suited to long-term glacial storage. Recent neuroscience findings suggest the brain can remain viable for longer durations without blood circulation compared to other organs. If pioneers in the cryonics field like Alcor Life Extension Foundation can successfully demonstrate the feasibility of freezing and storing just the brain at ultra-low temperatures, it could drive mainstream adoption of the concept. Rather than seeking indefinite future revival through speculative medical advances, brain-only preservation offers a more intermediate goal of digital mind uploading. As computing power and understanding of neuroscience progress every year, it is reasonable to expect research into whole brain emulation and connecting scanned neural patterns to software or hardware avatars could reach meaningful results within decades. This limited-scope approach appeals to those interested in a digital afterlife within a realistic timeframe without requiring the much higher technical challenges of resuming an entire living body. It could attract a whole new demographic for cryonics companies and significantly expand the potential customer base.
Organ Preservation for Transplantation: Organ preservation for transplantation has the potential to be a major growth driver in the cryosleep market in the coming years. With increasing rates of organ failure-related diseases and a shortage of organ donors, transplantation has become one of the most important medical treatments saving lives every day. However, the limited viability of donor organs poses major challenges, as successful transplantation depends on a minimal time delay between organ harvesting and transplantation. Cryopreservation or organ vitrification using very low subzero temperatures allows the long-term storage and preservation of organs like kidneys, liver and pancreas without any damage. This improves the chances of finding a matching recipient and also allows long-distance transportation of organs. According to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, over 100,000 people are waiting for organ transplants in the U.S. alone as of 2022. Only about 25% of these waiting patients receive a transplant each year due to a shortage of donors. Adoption of organ cryopreservation technologies can significantly increase the donor pool by storing and transporting organs from deceased as well as living donors.
Neuroscientific Research: Neuroscientific research has the potential to unlock new opportunities in the cryosleep market. As researchers advanced the understanding of how the brain functions during lowered body temperatures, it opens doors to improving safety and outcomes for those undergoing cryogenic procedures. One area that continues to show promise is neuroprotection. Current research suggests that cooling the body can help reduce oxidative stress on brain cells and decrease metabolism, allowing the brain to enter a suspended animation state with less risk of damage. Neuroscientists are working to determine the optimal rates of cooling and re-warming to best protect neural tissue. The U.S. National Institutes of Health funded a study between 2020 and 2022 that monitored biochemical and electrophysiological changes in the brains of rats undergoing moderate hypothermia. The results supported the theory that slower and controlled cooling protects brains better than rapid cooling. Advances like these could significantly improve safety of long-term human cryosleep.