Should we transplant an entire body? If the science actually makes this possible and you could get a healthy new body, is it morally different from a healthy new heart or liver?
The surgeon planning a human head transplant
Should we transplant an entire body? If the science actually makes this possible and you could get a healthy new body, is it morally different from a healthy new heart or liver?
The scientist severs the head and sews it onto a new body. It may sound like a macabreGruesome or ghastly. experiment in a horror film, but one neurosurgeon says it can be done and he's going to do it.
Sergio Canavero is working with his Chinese colleague Xiaoping Ren to make medical history. They want to transfer the head of a paralysed patient onto a healthy body, using a method they call the Gemini protocol.
It would be an incredible breakthrough. Surgeons can replace most major organs and give people new hands and even a new face. But no one has transplanted an entire body. Many say it is impossible.
Every year, up to half a million people suffer a spinal cord injury. This is the nervous tissue that connects the brain to the rest of the body. The damage is often permanent and in extreme cases, patients are paralysed from the neck down.
Full body transplant may be the solution. But bioethicists want a serious debate about its implications. Can you consent to being decapitatedWhen the head is cut off. ? After the operation, are you the same person? When you move your brain to a new body, do you also take your sense of self, your identity, your soul?
Canavero says it is about making lives better. He argues opponents are influenced by the "yuck factor", accusing surgeons of "playing God" and making a Frankenstein's monsterIn Mary Shelley's novel, Victor Frankenstein creates a living monster from the dismembered body parts of corpses.. But similar objections were made to the first transplanted kidney in 1954 and heart in 1967.
The idea of transferring a head was pioneered by the surgeon Robert White. As a devout Catholic, he believed "the soul is the brain" and his work was saving souls. He said Stephen HawkingOne of the most revered modern physicists, he is best known for his book A Brief History of Time. would be a perfect patient, preserving a brilliant mind in a new body.
But critics say Canavero and Ren have not proven these experiments are safe or effective. In trials, animals survived only a few hours or days, and less than 15% of nerves were restored. To stop the body from rejecting the head, patients must take a cocktail of immunosuppressantsThe body treats the new organ as a threat and attacks it. Drugs can slow this immune response and protect the organ. for the rest of their lives.
It's a "reckless and ghastly" idea, says bioethicist Paul Root Wolpe. Our bodies are more than a support system for our brains, they grow and learn together. We are both body and mind. Research shows we have a "second brainThe enteric nervous system (ENS) is the second-largest nervous cluster in our bodies and affects our mood. It gives scientific backing to the expression "gut feeling"." in our gut that makes decisions independent of the brain.
Neuroscientist Dean Burnett accuses Canavero of "claiming barnstorming triumph based on negligible achievements." In 2017, he announced the first successful human head transplant, only to reveal it was on a corpse. "Head transplants are fake news," warns scientist Arthur Caplan, and those who promote the idea deserve "not headlines but only contempt".
In 1957, the Soviet surgeon Vladimir Demikhov successfully grafted a second head onto a dog called CerberusIn Greek mythology, the three-headed dog that guards the gates to the Underworld.. In 1970, Robert White put one monkey's head on another. It lived long enough to bite him.
So far, Canavero is famous for what he says he will do. However, if successful, he may become known for a revolutionary way to change our bodies and extend our lives.
<h5 class=" eplus-wrapper">Should we transplant an entire body?</h5>
Yes: If the science is ready, it should not be held back by the squeamish. Medical discoveries often look like miracles. But over time, head transplants will become another ordinary procedure.
No: This is not the same as getting a new kidney. Your brain is only 8% of your body mass. If you put it in another body, most of you will have once been someone else. You will be a different person.
Or: Maybe, but not yet. Science does not progress by extravagant claims in the media. We need more laboratory tests to prove the technology works and is safe to try on humans.
Macabre - Gruesome or ghastly.
Decapitated - When the head is cut off.
Frankenstein's monster - In Mary Shelley's novel, Victor Frankenstein creates a living monster from the dismembered body parts of corpses.
Stephen Hawking - One of the most revered modern physicists, he is best known for his book A Brief History of Time.
Immunosuppressants - The body treats the new organ as a threat and attacks it. Drugs can slow this immune response and protect the organ.
Second brain - The enteric nervous system (ENS) is the second-largest nervous cluster in our bodies and affects our mood. It gives scientific backing to the expression "gut feeling".
Cerberus - In Greek mythology, the three-headed dog that guards the gates to the Underworld.
The surgeon planning a human head transplant

Glossary
Macabre - Gruesome or ghastly.
Decapitated - When the head is cut off.
Frankenstein's monster - In Mary Shelley's novel, Victor Frankenstein creates a living monster from the dismembered body parts of corpses.
Stephen Hawking - One of the most revered modern physicists, he is best known for his book A Brief History of Time.
Immunosuppressants - The body treats the new organ as a threat and attacks it. Drugs can slow this immune response and protect the organ.
Second brain - The enteric nervous system (ENS) is the second-largest nervous cluster in our bodies and affects our mood. It gives scientific backing to the expression "gut feeling".
Cerberus - In Greek mythology, the three-headed dog that guards the gates to the Underworld.