Comparative Study of Legal Aspects of Cryonics in Iran and US Law

Cryonics is one of the emerging issues in medical science, which was first introduced in the 1960. In this way, by placing the human body temperature at a negative 196 degrees, the body is protected and with the advancement of medical science in the future, it will attempt to revive it. This method has created hope for life for the sick. Despite the silence of the laws in this regard, various institutions in several countries, especially in the United States, Russia and Australia, have begun to freeze human beings. The Alcor Institute in America is one of the most recognized institutions. There are also signs of attention to this issue in the precedent of some legal systems such as the United Kingdom and the United States. The main issue regarding cryonics is the legal status of frozen persons from the perspective of life or death. In this article, with the assumption of the live of frozen individuals, the most important legal effects of cryonics, including the status of the marriage, property and current contracts, have been studied. Given the lack of recognition of this concept in Iranian law, in order to introduce and explain its effects we have to use the experiences of the countries that use it practically. In this article cryonics and some legal effects of it is studied with descriptive-analytic method and with regard to American law as a pioneer in this field.

Please cite this article as: Safari N, Bouzari S. Comparative Study of Legal Aspects of Cryonics in Iran and US Law. Iran J Med Law 2020; 13(51): 155-176.