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"Head Transplantation - It May Be Closer to Reality Than You Think
Information taken from Forbes
The concept of head transplantation, technically termed cephalosomatic anastomosis, has rocked the
media for many years. From the 1925's Alexander Belyaev's mad head transplant-performing scientist to
Marvel's gorilla-bodied and human-headed Gorilla-Man, the idea of brain transplantation has always been
provoking the human consciousness. It quickly expanded from the written word to the movie screen and
resulted in popular cinematographic pieces like 1962's “The Brain That Wouldn't Die”, the newer 2008's “The
X-Files: I Want to Believe”, or the newest one named “Altered Carbon”.
It didn't begin or stop on the big screen or in literature. Experimental head transplants started as early as
1908 when a French surgeon named Alexis Carrel and an American scientist named Charles Claude Guthrie
grafted the head of one dog to another, despite it proved mostly unsuccessful. Dogs went through another round
of experiments with a Soviet surgeon named Vladimir Demikhov, who transplanted a dog's head and the upper
body onto another dog mostly to show how the blood supply connected, but the dogs managed to survive for
almost a month. At this point, transplant rejections were a big problem that got solved by the development of
immunosuppressive drugs and organ transplantation techniques in the mid-1900s.
Another round of dog experiments was performed by Robert J. White in 1965 where he was grafting
brain vascular systems of isolated dog brains onto existing dogs, but the animals did not survive for long. Later
on, he also tried to connect the blood vessels of opposing monkey heads onto each other, but even though it
partially worked, there was a lot of blood clotting and immunosuppressive drug usage, and the animals did not
survive. His experiments were widely criticized by the animal rights communities for being very violent and
almost barbaric towards animals, and White was called “Dr. Butcher” or “Dr. Frankenstein”. This resulted in
animal testing being stopped for a while, at least in the field of large mammal head transplantation.
However, since 2012, there have been some efforts regarding brain transplantation in mice models.
Xiaoping Ren, a Chinese orthopedic surgeon, famous for being a part of the team that successfully performed
the first hand transplant, tried to graft a mouse's head onto another mouse, and the grafted heads survived for
about half a year. Somewhere around the same time, an Italian brain surgeon Sergio Canavero published the
protocol that claimed it would make human head transplantation possible, which caused a lot of stir in the
media and news outlets.
In 2017, Ren and Canavero conducted an experiment using a special model for head transplantation.
They aimed to understand the long-term effects of transplant rejection and blood flow issues that occur when
moving a head from one body to another. Here's how they did it: They used rats for their study. They connected
the thoracic aorta (a major blood vessel) and the superior vena cava (another important blood vessel) from one
rat to the carotid artery and extracorporeal veins (veins outside the body) of another rat. To make sure there was
enough blood, they used a third rat as a blood reservoir. They connected this rat's carotid artery and extracranial
vein to the donor rat using silicone tubes. They also used a pump and a heating device connected to the silicone
tubes to make sure the blood supply remained steady and to prevent the brain from getting too cold.
After they completed the transplant surgery, the donor rat showed signs of pain and corneal reflexes,
indicating that some neural function was present. This experiment represents a significant advancement in head
transplantation because it addresses the problem of restricted blood flow that was a major challenge in the early
days of this field.
Moreover, because immunotherapy (treatment to prevent the body from rejecting the transplant) has
improved a lot in recent years, the use of vascular grafts to connect blood vessels during head transplantation
could be a crucial development that brings this technology closer to reality.
However, it's important to note that more experiments are needed to refine the procedure and ensure its
safety. In 2017, Ren achieved a milestone by successfully performing the first-ever head transplant surgery on a
human cadaver, but there's still much more research to be done in this area.
According to their explanation, the surgical steps for a head transplant are as follows: Click Here For
the Surgical Steps.
Such scientific procedures have always drawn a lot of media frenzy and raised many ethical dilemmas.
The first feeling people get when they hear “head transplant” or “brain transplant” is simply an ick. Funnily
enough, they don't seem to respond in the same way when they hear about liver or kidney transplants. It's
possible that people connect emotionally more with brain or face transplants because they feel it's the part of the
body that makes a person who they are, even though a person cannot function without kidneys either. We also
don't know if the person will remain the same as they were before the transplant surgery, especially if their brain
or head is just attached to another body and given the fact that the brain controls our memories, emotions, and
reactions. For example some patients who went through heart transplants could recognize something changed
about them after receiving another person's heart; maybe they started liking food or music they previously
disliked. What's the situation with brain transplants, we don't exactly know.
Another ethical concern here is the cost of the procedure itself. A surgery of that caliber cannot be
anywhere near affordable for the average surgeon Joe, and it will most likely be accessible only to the rich.
Along those lines, using a person's full body to perform the head transplant on it might deny the world a chance
to use all the donated organs, and save only one life versus many.
Another huge, and rather tough, ethical question that comes to mind is – who should have the right to
receive a human head/brain transplant first, and who should donate it? Some scientists agree the ideal recipient
of a new human head should be a young and terminally ill person with no brain damage.
So far, head transplant surgeries have not been successful on live animal models, let alone on humans.
Sergio Canavero's protocol on head transplants and Ren's head transplant surgery on a human cadaver raised a
lot of concerns and dilemmas among the editorial staff of the scientific publication American Journal of
Bioethics (AJOB) – Neuroscience, and the professor of Bioethics at Emory, Paul Root Wolpe. Canavero's team
would be performing a very understudied and untested surgery that could risk the lives of its patients, all
without having the necessary scientific background backed up by years of performing experimental procedures,
safety testing, and quality control. Still, in the near future, someone will eventually perform the surgery on
humans, and the ethical concerns will have to yield some guidelines.
While ethical considerations are important, we must recognize that the current technical challenges are
daunting. These challenges include the risk of immune rejection, the need for precise nerve connections, and the
intense postoperative care required for patients. The postoperative care for patients may prove to be even more
intricate than the surgery itself. Patients may need immediate and intensive rehabilitation to regain movement in
all four limbs, a condition known as quadriplegia. They might also require long-term support for breathing and
therapy to address issues with their bladder, vocal cords, and communication."
The article "Head Transplantation - It may be closer to reality than you think" discusses the history and recent advancements in the field of head transplantation. The concept of brain transplantation has been popular in literature and media for many years, with various experiments conducted on animals dating back to the early 20th century. While initial experiments faced challenges such as transplant rejections, advancements in immunosuppressive drugs and organ transplantation techniques in the mid-1900s have paved the way for more recent experiments to be conducted successfully.
One significant development in head transplantation is the experiment conducted by Xiaoping Ren and Sergio Canavero in 2017, using rats as a model. By connecting important blood vessels between two rats to ensure proper blood flow, they were able to address the challenge of restricted blood flow that plagued earlier attempts. This experiment represents a significant step towards the possibility of human head transplantation, especially with the advancements in immunotherapy and vascular grafts.
However, despite these advancements, there are still many ethical concerns surrounding head transplantation. The emotional connection people have with their brains and faces raises questions about identity and personhood after undergoing such a procedure. The high cost of the surgery would make it inaccessible to many, leading to questions about equality and the distribution of medical resources. Additionally, the question of who should have the right to receive a human head transplant first and who should donate it raises complex ethical dilemmas that need to be addressed.
Furthermore, the technical challenges of head transplantation, including the risk of immune rejection, precise nerve connections, and intensive postoperative care, are significant hurdles that need to be overcome. The complexity of the surgery and the potential long-term effects on patients, such as quadriplegia and the need for rehabilitation, highlight the need for thorough research and careful consideration before pursuing human head transplantation. While the possibility of head transplantation may be closer to reality than in the past, the ethical, technical, and societal implications of such procedures must be carefully examined before moving forward.