Decapitating a living human to save their life rather than take it seems to be the plan of two doctors who are working to do the first human head transplant.
This narrative of severing someone’s head and attaching it to another human body may sound like a plot of some outlandish sci-fi or horror story, but it’s what the doctors are proposing to do.
Italian neuroscientist Sergio Canavero announced last year that he plans to do a head transplant and he has found not only a partner, Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren, but also a patient to do it with.
Valery Spiridonov is a Russian man who has volunteered for this unprecedented adventure. He suffers from Werdnig Hoffman disease, a muscle wasting condition that seriously diminishes his physical capabilities and has left him dependent on a wheelchair.
In their September issue, The Atlantic has gone into detail and told the story of the two doctors, the man willing to be the subject of this experiment and the controversies surrounding it.
Spiridonov approached Canavero and offered to volunteer for his mission to do the first head transplant. In an interview he did last year, Spiridonov said it was exciting to be part of this and likened it to being the first man in space.
However, in The Atlantic, he also mentions that this isn’t an “expensive euthanasia” for him, and he’ll only go forward with it when he has positive examples of the transplant from the experiments done on animals.
This transplant would cost anywhere between $10 million to $100 million, and will involve the use of a scalpel with a diamond blade. The doctors have said the surgery could happen as soon as the end of 2017 if all goes well, and will require around 80 surgeons.
The surgery, if and when it happens, is most likely to take place in China, as United States and Europe are unlikely to approve it. The Chinese authorities haven’t given it a green signal yet either.
The controversies surrounding the surgery are harsh and loud, with critics even describing it as just another headline-grabbing publicity stunt. Many scientists and ethicists have derided the project and have said that if Spiridonov dies, which isn’t unlikely, the doctors should be prosecuted for murder.
The questions raised regarding the outcome in the story are also plenty. The patient after the surgery will have his body, but another person’s brain and head. Will the muscle memories and traits of the donor remain? If the donor was a pianist, will Spiridonov be able to play the piano after the surgery? Who then will be the surviving person - Spiridonov or some kind of synthetic being?
(With inputs from The Atlantic and Motherboard.)
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