For about a month, scientists beamed up @ 6 million photons from a Tibet ground station to a low-orbit satellite with about 900 successes. This means Scotty may be able to beam you up... well, a very small part of you... a very tiny, miniscule bit at a time... over a prolonged passage of time... and what remains...
well, Dr. McCoy's reservations toward the transporter may have been due to his knowledge of its early beginnings.