An Interview With Ben Best
An interview with Cryonics Institute president and long-time healthy life extension advocate Ben Best can be found at Depressed Metabolism: "I believe that arrogance and complacency are poison for cryonics organizations, and competition is of value in shaking complacency (sometimes). I definitely think that it would be a bad idea for cryonics to have all the eggs in one organizational basket. ... There is already too much vulnerability to lawsuits and legal/political threats. More organizations in more locations (including more countries) would reduce this vulnerability. ... Eliminating or greatly reducing cryoprotectant toxicity would be the greatest possible step toward suspended animation through cryopreservation with vitrification. If suspended animation through cryopreservation became a reality there would be immediate acceptance and adoption by conventional medicine. Patient stabilization would be perfected by researchers all over the world and adopted in hospitals and other medical facilities. I think that too much research effort in cryonics is devoted to whole body vitrification, which is a side issue. Cryoprotectant toxicity needs to be [studied] with experiments directed toward understanding the molecular mechanisms on a theoretical level - not simply trial and error. Whole body vitrification could very well be achieved more quickly if cryoprotectant toxicity was the focus of study."
Link: http://www.depressedmetabolism.com/2008/08/06/interview-with-cryonics-institute-president-ben-best/