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Australian actress Clare McCann, known for Channel [V] shows Blog Party and Clublife, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $300,000 (£143,000) to cryogenically preserve her 13-year-old son Atreyu’s body following his death by suicide on May 23, 2025.
Atreyu McCann, described by his mother as “kind, creative, and endlessly loved,” died after enduring “months of relentless bullying.”
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Clare announced the heartbreaking loss on Instagram, writing, “It’s with shattered hearts that we share the passing of my beautiful son, Atreyu McCann. He was the brightest light in my world — kind, creative, and endlessly loved.”
She requested time and space to grieve, stating, “Right now, we are grieving a loss that words can’t hold. Please give us time and space as we process this unimaginable pain.”
The actress, a familiar face on Sydney’s social circuit often accompanied by Atreyu at red carpet premieres, aims to give her son “a second chance to live the life he wanted” through cryonic preservation.
Clare revealed that she and Atreyu had discussed cryogenics years ago, noting, “About six or seven years ago, we talked about the afterlife, heaven and cryogenics,” and Atreyu expressed he’d “like to do” it.
She emphasized their shared commitment, saying, “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 fundraiser, titled Help Preserve My Son After Bullying Tragedy, stresses the urgency of raising funds within seven days, as Clare stated, “We only have one chance left to cryogenically preserve his body within the next 7 days.”
She warned, “If we miss this window, we lose the chance for any future revival that science may offer.”
Cryonics involves freezing a legally deceased person’s body, packing it in ice, draining blood, and replacing it with antifreeze and organ-preserving compounds before storing it in liquid nitrogen at -196°C for potential future revival.
Clare explained the funds will cover the cryonic process, establish a trust in Atreyu’s name, and support a “national campaign for anti-bullying education and reform.”
As a public figure, she vowed, “I am a public figure with a national platform, and I will use every resource I have to make sure this never happens again, not just to my son, but to any other child failed by this system.”
She urged supporters, “Please help us preserve our beloved Atreyu and give his life the dignity and future that his school stole from him. Share this campaign. Tell his story. And stand with us.”
The fundraiser has raised $4,537 from 62 donations.
Clare and Atreyu previously collaborated in the 2019 independent film Benefited, which she wrote, directed, and starred in alongside her son.
Australia’s first cryonics facility opened in 2024, with its first client, a man in his 80s, preserved in hopes of future revival.
Clare’s campaign underscores her resolve, as she declared, “This is about hope and justice. Refusing to let my son’s story end in silence.”
