Australian actress seeks to freeze dead son’s body after suicide linked to bullying: 'A second chance'

The concept of cryopreservation involves preserving cells, tissues, or whole bodies at extremely low temperatures.

Australian actress and filmmaker Clare McCann issued a desperate appeal this week to raise AUD 300,000 (approximately Rs 1.65 crore) within seven days in order to cryogenically preserve the body of her 13-year-old son, Atreyu. The teenager died by suicide on May 23, following what McCann has described as months of “brutal bullying” at his New South Wales public school.

In a statement on her GoFundMe page, the actress explained that she believes cryopreservation may provide her son with a chance at future revival, if and when scientific advancements make it possible. “My 13-year-old son tragically took his own life after months of brutal bullying at a NSW public school,” she wrote. “I'm urgently raising $300,000 to cryogenically preserve his body within the next 7 days — or the opportunity for him to live again will be lost forever.”

McCann said that despite repeatedly alerting school authorities, the Department of Education, and Children’s Services to the bullying her son faced, no effective action was taken. She claimed to have submitted extensive documentation, including medical records, psychological reports, and a formal PTSD diagnosis. “We only have one chance left to cryogenically preserve his body within the next 7 days. If we miss this window, we lose the chance for any future revival that science may offer. This is about hope and justice,” she added.

At the time of writing, the GoFundMe campaign had raised only $3,200. According to the page, the funds would be used to cover the costs of immediate cryopreservation, legal and medical transport, and associated services. Any remaining amount would be allocated to establishing a trust in Atreyu’s name to protect his legacy, support anti-bullying education initiatives, assist families in similar circumstances, and fund legal action against the institutions allegedly responsible for failing to protect the boy.

Speaking to news.com.au, McCann elaborated on her son’s long-standing interest in cryonics. “All I need to say is how much I really need these funds to give my son what he wanted. About six or seven years ago, we started talking about the afterlife and heaven, and I talked to him a little about cryogenics, and he told me he would like to do that. Over the years, we talked about that that’s what we would want to do together, never separate. He deserves a second chance to live the life he wanted.”

The concept of cryopreservation involves preserving cells, tissues, or whole bodies at extremely low temperatures—typically below -130°C—using substances such as liquid nitrogen at -196°C. At these temperatures, all biological processes, including metabolic activity, are halted, thereby preventing decomposition and allowing long-term storage. Though revival of a cryopreserved human remains scientifically unproven and controversial, the process is being explored as a future possibility in the fields of medicine and research.

Australia’s first cryonics facility, Southern Cryonics, opened in Holbrook in 2023, and has already carried out its first procedure on a man in his 80s who died in a Sydney hospital. The centre drew considerable public attention as the nation’s inaugural venture into this experimental frontier of end-of-life care.