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Over at Newsweek, Hannah Osborne is reporting - First Human Head Transplant Successfully Performed on Corpse, Sergio Canavero Announces — Key bits:
Scientists have carried out a head transplant on a human corpse, the neurosurgeon behind the operation has announced.
At a press conference in Vienna, Austria, Sergio Canavero said his team was able to remove the head from one body and connect it to the body of another by fusing the spine, nerves and blood vessels. He said the next step will be to carry out the operation on a living person, The Telegraph reports.
"The first human transplant on human cadavers has been done. A full head swap between brain dead organ donors is the next stage,” he said. "And that is the final step for the formal head transplant for a medical condition which is imminent.”
Canavero said a “high number” of people have volunteered to be his first head transplant patient. It is thought he will carry out the operation in China in December.
Because, of course, some of us are aware of the special dynamics of the intersection between Ethics, Journalism, and the Chinese government.
And then the next kicker to sufficiently anti-bait the click:
The Italian neurosurgeon did not present any evidence of his claims at the conference.
But, who knows what gruesome story we'll hear about in December.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 21 2017, @02:25PM (2 children)
Swapping (not just adding a head) everything from the neck down such that the head (brain + eyes + ears + touch) is capable of rational thought and function for an indefinite period after the operation.
Keeping the body/organs functioning so that the chemical balance is good enough for a working, sane brain is a pretty high bar.
Having the head control the body seems a secondary step.
Pretty gruesome stuff.
Even assuming a suitable, brain dead donor, hopefully the ethics for do-no-harm would make this unlikely for a long, long time to come.
Can we ask nicer question here please?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 21 2017, @03:30PM
When I can buy a new body that will look good on Venice Beach (LA), then the technology will be perfected.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 21 2017, @03:38PM
A functioning set of organs, but paralyzed would be bare minimum as the recipient would be technically alive for a period, but if they can't get the nervous system hooked up, I see little point other than as a stepping stone.