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Baseball Strike May Be Looming; Interview with Dr. Jerry Lemler

Aired July 09, 2002 - 10:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We turn now to a drama playing out in the court of public opinion, and that is Major League's top superstars face off tonight in the All Star Game, but the lust of the diamond is threatened by the shadow of a threatened strike.

Our sports reporter, Josie Karp, is in Milwaukee to set the stage for a showdown on and off the field, Josie, good morning.

JOSIE KARP, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Let's start with the off-the-field fireworks. Yesterday, outside of Chicago, the players' union executive board met for about five hours. The news out of there was they did not set a strike date, but that doesn't mean that the threat of a strike has been averted entirely, merely postponed.

What happened was the members of the executive board, who are the union representatives for each team, were instructed to go back to their teammates, talk to their peers, and basically get the authority to set a strike date in the future.

And, what's unfolding right now, is the scenario that is very similar to the one that unfolded in 1994, and we know exactly how that ended. There was a 232-day strike that canceled the World Series, and extended into the following season.

And, because of all of the labor strife, the 60 players who are gathered here in Milwaukee to play a game tonight, the All Star Game, have really had to answer a lot of questions that have nothing to do with their accomplishments, but a lot more to do with the state of the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR HOFFMAN, SAN DIEGO PADRES: Thirty minutes ago when we walked in, you know, thoughts were of, you know, the All Star Game, the Homerun Derby tonight, but as you all come in here, there's no doubt that the focus is what's the state of the game, and what's going to come out of the meetings in Chicago. So, it's kind of been a quick dose of reality.

DEREK JETER, NEW YORK YANKEES: When you're here, you try to forget about it. You try to have fun and then you have to answer all these questions about it. So, I think besides the fact that we're faced with these questions now, it's basically the same. You try to come here and you try to have a good time. You try to mingle with the players, and this game is for the fans, so you try to make it a positive.

MIKE PIAZZA, NEW YORK METS: Just try to be optimistic, and I try to be positive, and we just hope that there is some sort of common ground we can find. I mean I just - it seems like that it's never been easy in the past, and this situation is no different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARP: Some players expressed frustration that the focus of this All Star festivity had really shifted so far away from the game, and last night here at Miller Park at the Homerun Derby, the focus did shift back to baseball, at least for a little while. The New York Yankees Jason Giambi won that contest, but in terms of winning the most oohs and ahhs, that honor went to the Cubs Sammy Sosa.

In the first round, he hit 12 homeruns, and he didn't just hit any kind of homerun. About half of those homeruns traveled 500 feet or more. One completely left the ballpark, and he is definitely the person who stole the show, although he didn't get the trophy.

And, speaking of the trophy, the presentation was made by Commissioner Bud Selig to Jason Giambi, and during the presentation, there was yet another reminder that baseball has a lot more to do than just with the game right now. It is overshadowed by what's going on with labor, because you could hear a lot of boos when Commissioner Selig was out there.

And, I know you asked me about that yesterday, Daryn. You wanted to know how would the commissioner be received. Well, you got your answer last night.

KAGAN: So, we've covered the commissioner. We've covered the sluggers. How about the pitchers? I know Kurt Schilling going for the National League, and for the American League, a young man who is actually having kind of a comeback of sorts from Boston.

KARP: It's really incredible. Derek Lowe last year, number one he was a reliever, and number two, he'll admit he was not a very good reliever. He almost got run out on a rail out of the City of Boston. He was really a scapegoat for a lot of the problems that they have.

But tonight, he's going to start in the All Star Game, and Manager Joe Torre of the American League was asked yesterday, what would he have done had Pedro Martinez, who is the ace of the Boston staff, been available to pitch? Would he have still started Derek Lowe? And, he kind of hemmed and hawed, and he said it would have been a tough decision. Pedro can't go tonight. He picked Derek Low.

KAGAN: Very good. Well, it will be a special night for him, and for a lot of the sluggers and pitchers out there. Josie Karp, you have a good time there at the All Star Game. Enjoy.

KARP: Thanks, Daryn. KAGAN: Thanks for checking in.

Well, tonight's All Star Game is also going to feature a tribute to Ted Williams, the game's last .400 hitter, who died last week of heart failure.

In the days since, the dignified and respected star has been the subject of tawdry headlines and a family squabble over his body. The estranged daughter of the Boston Red Sox great says her half brother has shipped his body to an Arizona cryonics facility, so it can be frozen and preserved. The case heads to court this week, even though the company, Alcor has not commented on whether Williams' body is there in Scottsdale.

So, what exactly is cryonics? According to Miriam Webster online, it's the practice of freezing a dead, diseased human in hopes of restoring life at some time in the future, when a cure for the disease has been developed. Joining us to discuss the medical facts and they mysterious allure of cryonics is Dr. Jerry Lemler, the Director of Alcor Life Extension Foundation. Doctor, good morning, thanks for joining us.

DR. JERRY LEMLER, ALCOR LIFE EXTENSION FOUNDATION: Good morning, Ms. Kagan. Thank you so much for allowing me to come.

KAGAN: First of all, I have to ask you straight out, does your facility have Ted Williams' body?

LEMLER: Regrettably, I'm not able to answer that at this time. However, what I am prepared to talk about are two of the erroneous and irresponsible allegations that have been made towards Alcor in the past few days.

The first of these concerns cloning, and let me set the record straight and say that Alcor does in no way engage in somatic cell nuclear transfer, or therapeutic cloning, or in reproductive cloning.

Secondly, the other allegation that we are somehow involved in a scheme to sell one of our member's DNA for profit is absolutely ludicrous. If you want to get someone's DNA, all you have to do is go to a barber shop or a beauty shop and take a few strands of hair and you could have all you'd ever possibly need. There would be absolutely be no need to come to Alcor and pay for our services and go to all that trouble.

So, I want to absolutely set the record straight. We are involved in neither of those activities, have no plans to ever get involved in either of those.

KAGAN: And, I appreciate that. I am very interested in the science of what it is that you're doing there in Scottsdale, Arizona, but I do just have to ask you, otherwise, I wouldn't be doing my job.

LEMLER: I understand and I frankly expected it.

KAGAN: You won't be able to talk about Ted Williams or anybody else specifically just the way your company is set up.

LEMLER: Yes, we have the rights of confidentiality that are very similar to a doctor-patient relationship, and short of an action of a court of law that compels us to do so, we honor that obligation that are made to us by our members.

KAGAN: Got it. That being said, I think there's still a lot of interest in what it is that you're doing in Scottsdale. You explained what you're not doing. What is it, and once you do accept a body, whoever it might be, how does it work?

LEMLER: The goal of cryonics, as the lead-in to the story was talking about, is to preserve as best we can the body and the brain of our members, such that expected in about 50 years from now, when the molecular engineering development or discipline of nanotechnology is mature enough, that eventually those individuals can be restored to life.

We consider our members, we call them patients once they're in their patient care bay, because many people believe, and this is quite actually not factual at all. Death is like a light switch. It's on and off. Either you're breathing and your heart's beating and you're alive, or you're dead.

It's been conclusively shown that for several hours after what we commonly refer to as death, the cells of the brain are quite active and able to function. So our goal, of course, is to be able to rescue our members immediately as they're pronounced dead, so that we can give them the best possible ride to the future.

KAGAN: Got it, and just so that our viewers understand the pictures that they're seeing. I believe it's, because I've been there inside your facility in Scottsdale, these giant metal vats are actually bodies hanging upside down?

LEMLER: Well, yes, they're all suspended in a liquid nitrogen medium at minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit, minus 190 degrees Centigrade. The capsules themselves are called dewers (ph). They're quite sturdy, and the reason that the bodies are inverted, is that if there ever is a shortage of liquid nitrogen, for whatever reason, it's hard to imagine there would be.

KAGAN: You want to save the brain?

LEMLER: You want to save the brain as the last organ to be exposed to room air, yes ma'am.

KAGAN: Got it, and I don't mean to rush you along here, but our time is limited. Do you have any scientific fact that it's based on, that these people will be able to bring back, or is it just a giant hope?

LEMLER: It's certainly one big hope, and actually the science is catching up with the fantasy in the sense that there have been so many marvelous breakthroughs. Even just 50 years ago, which is a blink of the eye in human history, if you had suffered a cardiac arrest 50 years ago, you would have been pronounced dead then and there on the spot by any physician in the world.

KAGAN: So you're hoping that those advances also apply to what you're trying to do?

LEMLER: Of course. Why should the physicians of 50 years from now be any less smart, relative to us, than we are as compared to 50 years ago.

KAGAN: Dr. Lemler, how much does it cost to join and to be one of these bodies?

LEMLER: Actually, it's extremely affordable. It's $50,000. . .

KAGAN: I heard $150,000?

LEMLER: No, it's not quite that high.

KAGAN: No.

LEMLER: It's $50,000 for a neuro or head-only suspension, and $120,000 for a whole body suspension. I might add that over 95 percent of Alcor members fund their suspensions through life insurance, where the premiums are spread out over a long period of time, and the payments are actually most affordable. You don't have to be rich or well-endowed or famous to be an Alcor member. In fact, the great majority are not.

KAGAN: I would imagine that would come as a shock to some family members, to find out that that life insurance they thought was going to them is actually going to your organization to keep someone's head or entire body.

LEMLER: Well, we argued for full disclosure, and we try to get our members, as many as possible, to sign what we call relative's affidavits in which they tell their family members, the significant ones of course, what their plans are.

This makes the actual rescue of these people, prior to their death, we will deploy our rescue teams anywhere in the world to rescue our folks before they are actually dead, so that we can start our procedures as soon as they have died. And, it helps if family members are on board and supportive of this, because they can streamline the logistic process of getting our rescue teams and equipment to bedside.

KAGAN: But if they're not, and again I know you can't comment on what's happening in the Williams' family situation, but I would imagine that Alcor has found itself in the middle of other family feuds, where relatives don't necessarily agree with what one person's wishes might be.

LEMLER: Regrettably, of course, that happens from time to time, but our position is in the end, no one wants to be the last soldier killed on the battlefield the day before the armistice is signed, and I think in most cases, good judgment does prevail.

KAGAN: All right, well we will leave it to others to decide what exactly that good judgment is. Dr. Jerry Lemler from Alcor, thanks for coming on and explaining exactly what your organization does, even if you weren't able to comment exactly on the Ted Williams situation.

LEMLER: Again, thank you so much, Ms. Kagan, for having me. It's a pleasure.

KAGAN: I appreciate it, Dr. Jerry Lemler from Alcor. For more questions, like just freezing a head regarding cryonics, visit our sports web site because it's related to Ted Williams.

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