Sparks Brain Preservation
A Non-profit Organization
Thank you so much for considering preservation services with our organization. We believe that signing up for preservation is a courageous and altruistic decision. Most importantly, it gives the person being preserved a potential chance at revival in the future. It also helps advance neuroscience, reduces social stigma, and encourages broader thinking about the long-term survival and flourishing of humanity.
Paperwork can be completed via web form or by downloading the PDF and returning it by email or mail. Please Contact Us with any questions.
Use these forms to sign yourself up for preservation. There is no initial or annual cost to be signed up.
Use these forms if you are working with us to preserve a loved one.
$45,000
Long-term members receive a 20% discount, for a final price of $36,000. This is for chemical fixation, our standard and best procedure for preserving the structure of the brain. Most of the cost goes toward Rapid Response at all locations within the Continental United States. It currently involves flying our technicians out to perform the procedure at a cooperative funeral home in a remote location. As we go live with our new facilities around the country, it will be more common for us to drive to the patient using one of our ambulances. In some cases, we might involve a local pathologist to save time when a patient dies emergently. In all cases, the decisions are made based on speed and quality, not cost.
This price also include all transportation and cremation of the remaining body.
$100,000
We offer to preserve the rest of the body in addition to the brain. Our method involves perfusing the body's blood vessels with chemical fixative, followed by immersion in a cryoprotectant solution containing ethylene glycol, and long-term storage at freezer temperatures. Long-term members receive a 20% discount, for a final price of $80,000. This includes the price of standard brain preservation and Rapid Response at all locations within the Continental United States. If it is priced separately (which is relevant to International Members), the cost is $55,000, or $44,000 with the discount.
We offer storage in liquid nitrogen in certain situations. Sometimes our standard aldehyde preservation cannot be performed. This typically occurs when a body has been previously straight frozen by a third party for some reason. The only option in this case is to leave the tissue frozen and preserve the entire head.
$14,000 for liquid nitrogen storage of the entire head ($11,200 with the discount)
We can also store in liquid nitrogen if the patient or next of kin specifically requests it. This is very different from a cryopreservation at Alcor or the Cryonics Institute. Liquid nitrogen storage here must be preceded by a thorough fixation and cryoprotective ramp that takes many months. Only after the quality is high enough that there is zero chance of ice formation would we proceed with cryopreservation. Even though it is more expensive due to required maintenance costs, this is not considered a higher quality preservation. It is in fact probably slightly lower in quality due to inevitable cracking. This option is frequently attractive to previous cryonics members. Both this liquid nitrogen storage and our standard brain preservation are superior in quality to traditional cryonics.
$8,000 for liquid nitrogen storage of the brain only ($6,400 with the discount)
Note: The liquid nitrogen storage prices are in addition to our Standard Preservation fees.
How can payment be made?
We accept payment via life insurance, will, trust, or pre-payment via check. Payment can be made before or after services are performed, except for whole body preservation or storage in liquid nitrogen, which requires payment in advance.
Life insurance is often the simplest way to pay for preservation, especially for those opting for whole body preservation, which requires that funding be arranged in advance. You can name Sparks Brain Preservation as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, so that the proceeds are paid directly to us after your legal death. We will ask for documentation confirming that your policy provides sufficient funding and that Sparks is the designated beneficiary.
Some of our members have worked with insurance agents who specialize in preservation arrangements, including Rudi Hoffman and David Kazak. You are welcome to use any reputable insurance provider of your choice.
If you have questions about payment arrangements, please contact us.
Is paid membership required to enroll for services?
No, a paid membership is not required to sign up. You can sign up for brain preservation with no upfront costs. From our perspective, signing up for preservation is clearly better than nothing and it is recommended if you do not have any funds available to pay for membership right now.
However, if you do have the available money right now, and are considering any of our paid service options, we believe that becoming a paying member will benefit both you and our organization. It will benefit you because paying members receive 20% off all services after 2 years and because membership fees accumulate as service credits. See Membership for more.
Another possible option is to sign the paperwork for preservation now and then consider becoming a paying member in the future if you later do have enough money for this.
What happens during a brain-only preservation procedure?
In ideal cases, we perfuse aldehyde-based solutions through the brain’s blood vessels to stabilize all proteins and prevent decay. We then carefully remove the patient’s brain and part of the cervical spinal cord, using the techniques we have developed over hundreds of cases to minimize damage. The patient’s brain is then stored indefinitely in preservative fluid at refrigerator temperature in our patient vault. See Our Preservation Approach.
How quickly do you need to reach me after legal death?
The sooner the better. Ideally, we begin the procedure within minutes. Our current research suggests we can achieve potentially sufficient structural preservation up to 24-48 hours after legal death, especially if the body is kept cool. Beyond 48 hours, the likelihood of successful preservation is expected to be lower. However, even this timeline is not well established, and there is a significant amount of variability between cases for unknown reasons. The exact time window for successful perfusion and for brain cell structure to break down is poorly understood. In our opinion, people (or AI models) who make confident claims about this topic usually do not know what they are talking about. The science simply is not yet well established.
Do fees need to be paid prior to service?
In most cases, no. The exceptions are the cases where people desire whole body preservation or liquid nitrogen preservation services. Payment does need to be made prior to providing those services.
What if I cannot afford the full preservation fee?
We have a Financial Aid Program available. If you are interested in this, please contact us to discuss your situation. Our goal is for preservation to be accessible to as many people as possible.
What do you do if people simply fail to pay after services were already performed?
We would try to work with you. There is a charitable component to the work we do, so we would always continue the preservation. This is possible because storage costs are nearly zero.
Do you preserve pets?
Yes. See our Pet Preservation page for details.
Do you offer whole body storage in liquid nitrogen?
No, we do not offer whole body storage in liquid nitrogen.
Can people who are in other countries also access brain preservation at your organization?
Yes. Please see our International Preservation page for details.
What if I have a unique circumstance that does not fit the standard protocol?
Every preservation case is different, and exceptions are common. Our goal is to make high-quality brain preservation accessible to as many people as possible. If the standard protocol does not fit your situation, we will work with you to find creative solutions, within the limits of the services we can provide. Please Contact Us to discuss your particular situation.