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Science & Technology

Is a human head transplant possible ?

By T.K. Randall
July 2, 2013 · Comment icon 38 comments

Image Credit: sxc.hu
A prominent neurosurgeon believes that transplanting a human head is now actually a viable procedure.
While head transplants have been a staple of experiments on animals since the 1970s, the idea of transplanting the head of one person on to another has remained impossible, mainly because there is no way to reconnect the spinal cord. There is also the question of whether a person could remain alive during such a procedure and whether it would even be the same person by the end of it.

Dr Sergio Canavero believes that the technology now exists that could make such a procedure a reality. "The greatest technical hurdle to such endeavour is of course the reconnection of the donor's and recipient's spinal cords," he said. "It is my contention that the technology only now exists for such linkage. It is argued that several up to now hopeless medical conditions might benefit from such a procedure." [!gad]While head transplants have been a staple of experiments on animals since the 1970s, the idea of transplanting the head of one person on to another has remained impossible, mainly because there is no way to reconnect the spinal cord. There is also the question of whether a person could remain alive during such a procedure and whether it would even be the same person by the end of it.

Dr Sergio Canavero believes that the technology now exists that could make such a procedure a reality. "The greatest technical hurdle to such endeavour is of course the reconnection of the donor's and recipient's spinal cords," he said. "It is my contention that the technology only now exists for such linkage. It is argued that several up to now hopeless medical conditions might benefit from such a procedure."
Dr Sergio Canavero believes that the technology now exists that will allow surgeons to carry out the Frankenstein-style procedure, which has been tested out on animals since 1970.


Source: Telegraph | Comments (38)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #29 Posted by Zaphod222 12 years ago
Danielost: So if someone is on a mechanical heart, they have no emotions? It takes a religionist to believe nonsense like that.
Comment icon #30 Posted by Zaphod222 12 years ago
It's not a story, it's called 'China'. http://en.wikipedia....public_of_China The KLA islamist thugs did that too with Serbian victims. Unsurprisingly, the US (under Clinton) supported them, too. Talk about consistently supporting the wrong group of people...
Comment icon #31 Posted by danielost 12 years ago
Danielost: So if someone is on a mechanical heart, they have no emotions? It takes a religionist to believe nonsense like that. And yet some people who get heart transplants have habits that the doner had but the receiver didn't have including smoking. I also believe that artifacial hearts are temps.
Comment icon #32 Posted by Lex540 12 years ago
impossible a wizard knows not a word but i will give you the benefit of the doubt
Comment icon #33 Posted by kannin 12 years ago
this is just something to wierd and complex to be tampering with it
Comment icon #34 Posted by DKO 12 years ago
I've always thought how weird it would be to get a hand transplant and have to look at this other persons hand attached to you. Then being able to move it would be even creepier. But awesome as well. It's great we can do these sort of procedures nowadays. But then to have a new body attached to your head would be a whole new level. The worst part would have to be that one part of the body that I think most guys would feel creeped out by. I don't mean to be crude but imagine looking down at someone else's parts there. But I guess if I was in a car crash or something and my body was crushed and ... [More]
Comment icon #35 Posted by d e v i c e 12 years ago
I'm yet to see a reattached human arm function normally yet. What to say of a head! Good luck to them, I guess.
Comment icon #36 Posted by Mikko-kun 12 years ago
If you could get rich by first building up a healthy strong body and then selling it to a hefty price and donating money to whoever is your reincarnation, even if it ment the body removal operation would kill you... if all that was possible, would you still do it to be rich in the next life?
Comment icon #37 Posted by Whatsinausername 12 years ago
I've always thought how weird it would be to get a hand transplant and have to look at this other persons hand attached to you. Then being able to move it would be even creepier. But awesome as well. It's great we can do these sort of procedures nowadays. But then to have a new body attached to your head would be a whole new level. The worst part would have to be that one part of the body that I think most guys would feel creeped out by. I don't mean to be crude but imagine looking down at someone else's parts there. Also, if you wanted to have kids, biologically speaking they wouldnt be your ... [More]
Comment icon #38 Posted by DKO 12 years ago
Also, if you wanted to have kids, biologically speaking they wouldnt be your kids. Yes another good point.


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