We've heard about heart
transplantation, kidney, liver, and even the lungs but ... head transplant!? It is a really strange
project, Wouldn't you agree. At first there are so many complications and
problems that may occur from the refusal of immune system by complete paralysis
of all the nerves from the neck down, through to identity issues.
This does not seem to
be intractable and insurmountable problems by Sergio Canaveral from Turin Group
advanced neuromodulation of Italy. According to him, the idea is this endeavor
is to prolong the lives of people whose nerves and muscles degenerated, are
those who have been diagnosed with cancer. Additionally, he believes that such
an operation can be performed in just two years, in 2017. Sure, he recognizes
the problems that might occur with this endeavor. As mentioned above, the
immune system of the body is likely to reject the new head. Nerves from nervous
pillar are difficult to connect because it's not the same issue like with the
standard cables.
Canaveral on the other
hand offers solutions to all these problems. He offers the example of modern
medicine through the use of various substances to block the immune system from
rejection of transplanted organs such as the kidneys, heart, lungs etc. On the
other hand, the connection of nerves is performed by polyethylene glycol, which
stimulates the nerve connection of the tested subjects.
According to
Canaveral, his procedure would be performed
with these steps: first the patient is placed in a coma, then cooling
the recipient's head and the donor’s body to extend the time for the cells to
survive without oxygen. Then cut the tissue of the neck and the big blood
vessels are conected with medical straws. After this cut the spinal cord, which
it is critical to achieve because you must be extremely clean and accurate.
Then the head is moved
to the new body, which the two ends of the nerve pillars are tied together.
Once merged, place the circuit is fed by the aforementioned politetilen glycol
few weeks which will stimulate the nerves connecting. Throughout this time the
patient is sleeping in a coma. At the end of the circuit and to arrange for the
other tissues, the patient wakes up from a coma and, according to Canaveral, he
can move, talk and practically to use his new body.
No need to mention
that this is a gigantic undertaking surgery, and the one that will succeed will
certainly come in the human history as the first man who successfully
transplanted whole head. People have previously experimented with
transplantation of animal heads for example soviet scientist Vladimir Demikov
experimented with head transplantation of dogs but they only survived between
two and six days. Other scientists did the same with mice and monkeys but with
the similar results. It certainly does not mean that this is undoable with the
advancement of technology.
The real problem with
this is with the ethical issues that are opened in this case and if this is
what all people desire.. On the other hand, probably everyone would like to get
a new body and get rid of the old one. It remains to see how humanity will
accept Sergio Canaveral and the others after him.