Sergio Canavero made a bet: to graft a head onto another body before the end of 2017. He set the date for December. And he thinks he has found the method.
The bet is crazy: to transplant a head from one man to another. Unthinkable, you might say, but this challenge is about to be won. The very controversial Sergio Canavero, Italian neurosurgeon, advances his pawns, ignoring the reluctance of the medical community.
The first head transplant will therefore be performed in December 2017, in China. The doctor claims to have found the right approach … on rats. An essay to this effect was published in the journal CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics. This is the first time that the Italian has benefited from a publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
One body, two heads
The term of Sergio Canavero’s experimentation evokes mythological monsters. It must be said that at the end of the surgery, the recipient rat had two heads, placed one on top of the other. Striking images published by the site Motherboard.
To achieve this result, the Italian resorted to three animals. A donor, a recipient and one intended to supply blood to the brain during the transplant. The donor’s head and front legs are attached to the recipient. The objective is clear: to reduce the risk of rejection while limiting the damage to the organ.
Nothing says if it is this “two-headed” model which will be adopted by the mad scientist. But the approach pays off: the brain tissue seems intact. The animals suffered from post-operative pain and presented a corneal reflex, a sign of success. During the operation on humans, it will therefore be necessary to ensure a constant flow of blood, using a pocket this time and not a third human being. But the Italian is no doubt advancing. It usually takes several years before moving on to human research.
“Things much worse than death”
The adventure is crazy, and recalls the work of Dr. Frankenstein. However, she has convinced Chinese researchers: the operation will be carried out at Harbin Medical University (China). But the Russian volunteer will not be the first chosen. A Chinese citizen will first have to go under Sergio Canavero’s knife. Valery Spiridonov, who suffers from Werdnig-Hoffman’s disease, will have to take his illness patiently.
This publication in no way resolves the ethical issues raised by this attempted transplant. Neurosurgery specialists have also pointed out the risk of severe suffering if the operation fails. In fact, the president of the American Association of Neurosurgeons vividly summed up his skepticism in 2015. “I don’t wish that on anyone,” said Hunt Batjer. I would never allow someone to do this to me; there are things much worse than death. “
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