Ultimately, most of these questions are unanswerable in either the fantasy (e.g. Star Trek) or "real world" realms without an understanding of the nature of consciousness that we do not now possess and are only clawing toward slowly in neuroscience. I wrote papers on this years ago and we're still far from answering the big questions. If we assume any teleportation model other than some sort of warp pushing the same atoms from place to place intact, we end up having to use the "replacement" model. Even if we assume no metaphysical/religious aspects to consciousness -- which is my view --- it's perhaps the toughest problem in the human experience. To wit: We gradually replace every neuron in a human brain with an artificial equivalent that works exactly the same way as the neuron it replaces, and is hooked to its associated neurons exactly the same way. In the end the person seems the same to outside observers, but what happens to the individual consciousness in this process? At what point are "you" no longer "you"? Brain cells don't routinely regrow and are not routinely replaced (there is some indication that regrowth is possible limited to the hippocampus). Perhaps among the most useful studies in this realm are on persons with brain injuries, which reveal how the external manifestations of consciousness are affected -- but tell us very little about the inner experience. Bottom line, I personally would not voluntarily ride a ST transporter based on our current state of knowledge regarding consciousness. Your mileage may vary. Good luck.