David Kekich : The Cost of Immortality

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David Kekich

The Cost of Immortality

Dear Future Centenarian,

We talked a lot about how and why aging can be reversed in our lifetimes, and what you can do to boost your odds to benefit. Let’s now talk a little about how much a project like this might cost.

First, some knowledgeable people think it will never be done in our lifetimes. Nearly every great advance was met with skepticism and derision. But science continues to prevail. It will be the same with aging research.

For those who do believe it is possible, projected timelines extend from something less than MaxLife’s 21 year plan to as much as a hundred years. And some project that the cost will be well over $1 trillion. How about you? What are your opinions? Can it be done? How long will it take? How much will it cost?

We have spent years pondering those questions and running calculation after calculation. After consulting with scientists from all the disciplines we explored, after reviewing business plans and budgets and research plans and budgets, after factoring in the Law of Accelerating Returns and its Deflationary Factor, and after a bunch of educated guesswork boosted by optimism and tempered by the harsh reality of knowing projects usually cost more and take longer than we anticipate, here are our conclusions:

This is not a trillion dollar plus project. In fact, it’s not even a $100 billion project, even though that would be one of the most incredible bargains of all time. We spend that much on health care in this country EVERY 16 DAYS! We came to the astonishing conclusion that we could accomplish enough to reverse aging in humans for the ridiculously low sum of $1.7 billion plus $900 million more for SENS. Total $2.6 billion.
We can do this over a 21 year span, starting from the time the first part of the funding is in place.
This assumes no reinvested profits will be generated from any of the companies and technologies which would receive funding. If some of these were moderately successful, profits could be reinvested, which would reduce the overall cash outlay.

If we’re right, 10,000 health conscious individuals, just like you, could fund MaxLife’s project for $900/month each.

If it costs so little, and even if it does cost over a trillion dollars, wouldn’t this be something governments or big business would fund?

Unfortunately, no!

I’ll continue this topic next week.

David A. Kekich

Maximum Life Foundation

714-641-0700/Fax 714-464-4135

www.MaxLife.org

"Where Biotech, Infotech and Nanotech

Meet to Reverse Aging by 2029"

Published Monday, August 11, 2008 4:20 AM by David Kekich

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aldersondrive2007 wrote on August 11, 2008 10:20 PM

When one thinks of the health care cost of age related disease, than it has in reality a very negative cost!

It seems that the government and health insurance providers would have an incredible incentive to develop this.

Is it possible that it is being done, except under different labels so as not to arouse the chagrin of stock holders and ceo's? I don't know.

Let's say several years from now, your insurance carrier, and maybe even Medicare, would offer a substantial savings on your premium under one condition. You take life extension therapy.

The government could also give those who don't believe in it a subsidy to pay the higher premiums in the future for those who want to age "naturally", because the rest of us will save the government and health care industry tens, or even hundreds of trillions of dollars over the long run!

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Another way this might all evolve is just that as the law of accelerating returns speeds up the mastery of DNA processing and repair, we will slowly (at first, but with increasing speed) just repair organs with either stem cells (made from skin, so no embryo ethical problem) or artificial DNA with a nano-tech carrier to deliver new DNA into adult cells, which would just result in a pushing back of debilitating age related diseases, until in 2025, the "average life expectancy" gets to 90 years, than in 2035, to 120 years, than in 2045 "several hundred, or in the thousands".

Perhaps, no waking up on January 10Th, 2027 with the headlines saying "BIOLOGICAL IMMORTALITY ACHIEVED!", but a more incremental move in that direction.

On Charlie Rose, there were 4 geneticists who were interviewed about personalized medicine. At the end of the program Charlie asked on of the doctors what we could expect in 50 years, and his answer,

"We couldn't even begin to guess. But, in the next 3 to 5 years, expect stem cells made from your own skin to be used to repair damage to some of the internal organs, and your skin as well, with, perhaps almost all a few years after that (sic)."

We may already be closer than we think, and it will be costly at first, but 10 years later, cheaper, and 10 years after that, like a flu shot. Maybe..

P.S. It will help to staff the Presidents Council on Bio Ethics with individuals that don't' want to roll back civilization to the pre-Enlightenment.