Jerry Leaf
Encyclopedia
Jerry Donnell Leaf was Vice President and Director of the cryonics
organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation
, and President of the cryonics
service firm Cryovita, Inc., until his cryopreservation
by Alcor following a fatal heart attack in 1991.
Leaf fought in special operations during the Vietnam War
. He also worked as a cardiothoracic surgery
researcher at the UCLA School of Medicine, co-authoring more than 20 papers from the laboratory of Dr. Gerald Buckberg.
During the late 1970s and 1980s, Leaf transformed the field of cryonics
by bringing unprecedented medical expertise to the field and introducing technologies and procedures of thoracic surgery
, especially heart-lung bypass, for improved blood vessel access and life support of cryonics patients. Leaf was involved in the first experiments done by a cryonics organization. He is most famous for developing with Mike Darwin
a blood substitute shown capable of sustaining life in dogs for four hours at near-freezing temperatures. Leaf was the head of Alcor's suspension team and participated in many suspensions of Alcor patients.
, from 1982. During this time, Leaf also collaborated with Michael Darwin in a series of hypothermia experiments in which dogs were resuscitated with no measurable neurological deficit after hours in deep hypothermia, just a few degrees above zero Celsius. The blood substitute which was developed for these experiments became the basis for the washout solution used at Alcor. Together, Leaf and Darwin developed a standby-transport model for human cryonics cases with the goal of intervening immediately after cardiac arrest
and minimizing ischemic injury, the "gold standard" of technology at that time, in which a patient's kidney
was considered to be in transplantable condition two days after her death. Leaf and Darwin transferred Bedford, the first person cryopreserved, to a more technologically advanced dewar
at Alcor in 1991 and were able to examine him at that time. A member of the Society for Cryobiology, Leaf objected to a 1980s change by the Society to amend its bylaws to prevent cryonicists from holding membership in the Society.
With no history of heart disease, Leaf suffered a fatal heart attack in 1991. Leaf was cryopreserved by Alcor. Today, Alcor is the only full-service cryonics organization that performs remote standbys, using Leaf and Darwin's methods.
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is a Scottsdale, Arizona, USA-based nonprofit company that researches, advocates for and performs cryonics, the preservation of humans in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of restoring them to full health when new...
, and President of the cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
service firm Cryovita, Inc., until his cryopreservation
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
by Alcor following a fatal heart attack in 1991.
Leaf fought in special operations during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He also worked as a cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
researcher at the UCLA School of Medicine, co-authoring more than 20 papers from the laboratory of Dr. Gerald Buckberg.
During the late 1970s and 1980s, Leaf transformed the field of cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
by bringing unprecedented medical expertise to the field and introducing technologies and procedures of thoracic surgery
Thoracic surgery
Thoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax . Generally treatment of conditions of the lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm....
, especially heart-lung bypass, for improved blood vessel access and life support of cryonics patients. Leaf was involved in the first experiments done by a cryonics organization. He is most famous for developing with Mike Darwin
Mike Darwin
Michael G. Darwin, also known as Michael Federowicz, was the president of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation from 1983 to 1988, and Research Director until 1992...
a blood substitute shown capable of sustaining life in dogs for four hours at near-freezing temperatures. Leaf was the head of Alcor's suspension team and participated in many suspensions of Alcor patients.
Cryovita Laboratories
In 1978, after teaching surgery as a research associate at UCLA, Leaf founded Cryovita Laboratories. Cryovita was a for-profit organization which provided cryopreservation services and the building for Alcor in the 1980s, including storage of the first cryonics patient, James BedfordJames Bedford
James Hiram Bedford was a University of California psychology professor who had written several books on occupational counseling. He is the first person whose body was cryonically preserved after legal death, and who remains cryopreserved...
, from 1982. During this time, Leaf also collaborated with Michael Darwin in a series of hypothermia experiments in which dogs were resuscitated with no measurable neurological deficit after hours in deep hypothermia, just a few degrees above zero Celsius. The blood substitute which was developed for these experiments became the basis for the washout solution used at Alcor. Together, Leaf and Darwin developed a standby-transport model for human cryonics cases with the goal of intervening immediately after cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
and minimizing ischemic injury, the "gold standard" of technology at that time, in which a patient's kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
was considered to be in transplantable condition two days after her death. Leaf and Darwin transferred Bedford, the first person cryopreserved, to a more technologically advanced dewar
Dewar
Dewar may refer to:*Clan Dewar* Vacuum flask , a container with vacuum insulation; used to keep the contents hot or cold for an extended period...
at Alcor in 1991 and were able to examine him at that time. A member of the Society for Cryobiology, Leaf objected to a 1980s change by the Society to amend its bylaws to prevent cryonicists from holding membership in the Society.
With no history of heart disease, Leaf suffered a fatal heart attack in 1991. Leaf was cryopreserved by Alcor. Today, Alcor is the only full-service cryonics organization that performs remote standbys, using Leaf and Darwin's methods.