Anyone with a keen interest in extending their lifespan has read or heard something about Dr. Aubrey de Grey. He has spoken at TED, countless universities, life extension seminars and is no stranger to being interviewed by the mainstream media. Aubrey makes his prime objective clear by both his commitment and words. During the conclusion of most talks he passionately emphasizes the importance of awareness about aging.

Is Aging a Disease?

Dr. de Grey wants the world to see aging differently: as he sees it. He argues that aging is not a fact of life that should be accepted, but instead is a disease responsible for more deaths than any other condition. Since young people typically don’t have to worry about heart disease, cancer and diabetes nearly much as their elders the very root of most health problems is aging itself.

Escape Velocity or Methuselarity

The slide outlining Aubrey’s concept of escape velocity (recently re-dubbed methuselarity) is extraordinarily popular, one reason being that it’s controversial nature divides believers from skeptics. Although there are currently no proven methods to intervene in the aging process, life-extensionists point to advances in nano-engineering and stem cell research as a good indication that treatments are just around the corner.

The idea behind escape velocity is that we don’t need the very best anti-aging solutions to extend lives. We merely need to work with the best solutions available as technology progresses to catapult ourselves forward. In other words, true solutions only exist for those able to live long enough.

This de Grey guy loves beer.

Long Live the Rich

One point that Aubrey fails to mention is that time alone does not guarantee access to the latest interventions. Another key item in the equation is money. A perfect example is the state of healthcare in rich parts of North America and Europe in comparison to the third world. We take treatments such as routine vaccinations for granted while Africans continue to die of measles. These deaths could be prevented with less than $1 worth of vaccine.

The few companies working on aging interventions such as increasing telomere length (a marker of age) are funded by wealthy individuals salivating at the chance to receive a ticket to immortality. With for-profit motives, investors and the highest bidders will benefit as soon as clinical trials deem it safe, and maybe even before.

Clearly, the first people that will be in line for authentic anti-aging treatments will be someone like Sergey Brin or Bill Gates, not your next-door neighbor and certainly not the less privileged among us.