But this service has previously been within the reach of only the very rich, such as Disney, while less affluent people have missed the opportunity to do this when they die. And it is reported that contrary to popular belief, the media mogul’s head was not severed from his corpse, cryogenically frozen, and stored under the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. According to his wishes, Disney was cremated, his ashes interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California

But now, say StemProtect.co.uk, we are looking at a near future in which the service is available to everyone - for a small cost of course. Mark Hall (right) spokesperson for StemProtect.co.uk said: “We’re accustomed to making jokes about freezing heads when we die, and of course everyone knows Walt Disney did it - often that’s their only point of reference. But soon we could see this practice becoming commonplace because advances in technology have made it much more affordable.”

“And of course, while we’re not at the point yet where we can bring someone back to life from this procedure, we believe it’s just around the corner.”

StemProtect.co.uk agree that this does raise some weighty ethical questions, however: “We don’t yet know what the emotional impact would be of bringing someone back to life this way even when we are physically able to do it. That’s not a question for science but for us as human beings, and it’s a question we might not be able to answer until the first person is brought back to life after being frozen.”

The service will be offered at a cost of £5000 for 250 years. Which Mr Hall points out “That’s cheaper than some funerals”Other ways of preserving vital tissue, such as stem cell banking, are now much more commonplace than ever before, and carry far fewer ethical problems. Unlike freezing a head, which is done to bring a dead individual back to life, the work StemProtect.co.uk do is aimed at preserving information about the body which can be used for medical purposes while the person is still alive.

• StemProtect.co.uk is the UK’s fastest-growing stem cell bank.
• As the world’s most accredited stem cell storage company.
• Its stem cell bank is reliable, affordable and offers the most secure facilities for storing stem cells for future use.
• Our aim: The most affordable, most comprehensive, most reliable stem cell banking service in the United Kingdom.
• We process ten times more stem cell samples than any other company.

Website:  StemProtect.co.uk