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Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage

surgicalneurologyint.com

11–20 of 34 posts

Re: Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage

#11
post #8

I'm not sure I see the point. It's already extremly difficult to transplant one organ and make it last, so a whole body? Maybe as temporary measure while massive (deadly?) treatments are performed on the original body? Last but not least, if you transplant a head on a new body and this new body has children, whose children are they? Is our identity only in the head?

Maybe it is extremely difficult, but it's also fairly common regardless. Transplants are being done every day. If someone cannot be fixed in any other way - that's often a "cheating" way out.

Re: Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage

#12
post #7

I'm interested to know how does the anaesthetic work in this case. It wasn't mentioned in details (or maybe I missed it), but since most substances are transferred in blood stream how would they go about it? Wouldn't reconnection to another body completely mess up the process? Or maybe the temperature drop would be enough to keep the current state. Either way - in happy to hear how close we are to the world of yester…

The head is technically dead for a short time and kept refrigerated. Also keep in mind there is no signal to be received by the brain in the first place since the spinal chord has been severed.

Re: Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage

#15
Considering that a face transplant currently requires a lifetime regimine of immunosuppressives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_transplant#Ethics.2C_Surge...) in order to have post-op acceptance of the transplant by the host, I would expect nothing less in this more extreme form of surgery.

I would hate to be the recipient of this procedure; then fin my body (their body?) rejecting the transplant!

Re: Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage

#19
Interesting, though mostly because of our gut reactions, not because there's anything terribly complicated or new about the moral repercussions, etc.. It's not much different from normal organ donation in most respects.

From the article:

I have not addressed the ethical aspects of HEAVEN. In Thomas Mann's "'The Transposed Heads," two friends, the intellectual Shridaman and the earthy Nanda, behead themselves. Magically, their severed heads are restored - but to the wrong body, and Shridaman's wife, Sita, is unable to decide which combination represents her real husband. The story is further complicated by the fact that Sita happens to be in love with both men. This short story highlights the ethical dilemma that must be faced: The HEAVEN created "chimera" would carry the mind of the recipient but, should he or she reproduce, the offspring would carry the genetic inheritance of the donor.

However, it is equally clear that horrible conditions without a hint of hope of improvement cannot be relegated to the dark corner of medicine. This paper lays out the groundwork for the first successful human head transplant.

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