In a controversial surgery led by Robert J. White, a team of neurosurgeons performed a head transplant on a living rhesus monkey. Paralyzed and only able to smell, hear, taste, and see for a couple days, the test subject met its end a couple days later. This surgery raised questions on whether or not a full head transplant should be performed on humans, which would both raise many ethical questions and save countless of lives. With talk of a head transplant being performed on an actual human, many state that it should not be done due to the outcomes of Dr. White’s surgery.
1. Nguyen, Tuan C. “What It Will Take For A Head Transplant to Work.”
Washington Post. WP Company LLC, 6 Mar. 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2016. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/1661969649?pq-origsite=summon>.
Sergio Canavero is an Italian neuroscientist who is advocating for a full head transplant in the near future. His big, revolutionary idea, although, comes with many complications. How would one fuse the spinal cord together in order to connect the brain and body? How would one prove that this experiment is feasible? How would he respond to the ethical controversy of this experiment? Canavero already has a theory, called Project GEMINI, that may help him achieve the impossible. However, with so much skepticism and controversy about this subject, it may be hard for him or any others to perform such a revolutionary surgery.
2. “Gizmodo: The Crazy Science Behind a Proposed Head Transplant.”
Gizmodo. Gizmodo, 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2016. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/1658165306?pq-origsite=summon>.
In China’s Harbin Medical University, a team of researchers are planning to perform a head transplant surgery with long-tailed macaque monkeys. They plan to connect a fraction of the spinal nerve fibers, which should be enough for the monkey to maintain voluntary muscle movement and other crucial functions. However, there are many ethical problems and skepticism for this procedure. Whether or not this experiment will be successful, more knowledge and better technology need to be attained in order to successfully perform it on humans such as increasing the number of nerve connects, preventing the rejection of the transplant, and keeping the brain healthy.
3. Fingas, Jon. “Monkeys May Be the First Primates to Get Successful Head Transplants.”
Engadget. AOL Tech, 6 June 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/07/monkey-head-transplants/>.
The possibility of a human head transplant would be revolutionary in the medical field, but it poses many philosophical and neuroethical complications. By performing one, the person may lose their personal identity, metaphysical and social status, and physical and emotional experiences. Despite these problems, Sergio Canavero plans to perform a head transplant by 2017 on Valery Spiridonov. It can be possible with new technology such as HEAVEN-GEMINI, which involves the cooling and cutting of the donor’s and recipient’s spinal cords to allow for fusion. It addresses in more detail how it is possible and what will happen post-surgery.
4. Pascalev, Assya, Mario Pascalev, and James Giordano. “Head Transplants, Personal Identity and Neuroethics.”Springer (2015): 1-8. Springer Science and Business Media Dordrecht. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.
Written by Dr. Sergio Canavero, himself, this article explains HEAVEN-GEMINI through his perspective.
Using Dr. Robert White’s head transplant on a rhesus monkey as an example, he explains and outlines in incredible detail how project GEMINI will allow for the complete fusion of the spinal cord and brain. Additionally, pictures are included in this source to make the procedure easier to understand. Canavero, further, supports his endeavor by explaining how Dr. White’s procedure was performed and compares it to project GEMINI. It is stressed that this procedure is very complex and extensive preparation is needed for it to be successful.
5. Canavero Sergio. 2013. HEAVEN: The head anastomosis venture project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage (GEMINI). Surgical Neurology International 4(1): 335–342.
This article explains in more detail about Dr. Robert White’s procedure with the rhesus monkey. Dr. White’s plan in this experiment was to completely cut off the monkey’s head intact and then rapidly stitch it to the neck of another beheaded rhesus monket. The monkey could eat, react to stimuli, and snarl when prodded, but the spinal nerve fibers were not connected. Due to this problem, it could not control anything below its neck and only lived for eight days. However, despite the outcomes of his surgery, White continues to relentlessly believe that a head transplant on humans is very viable.
6. White R.J.. 1999. Head transplants. Scientific American 10: 24–26.
This article explains a theoretical surgery in which a head/ brain transplant could work, but then states that it is no more than medical fiction. The reasoning is that all the material that broke does not regenerate and if the nerves did join, how can one be so sure they are connecting the right fibers? There are millions of fibers in the body. Therefore, it would be surgically impossible. If the surgery were to be successful, what would the identity of the individual be? Would the person be the donor, recipient, or a new third person? What would their memories be and who would it belong to? These may confuse the individual and cause stress.
7. Puccetti Roland. 1969. Brain transplantation and personal identity. Analysis 29(3): 65–77.
A chemical called polyethylene glycol that encourages the fat within the cell membranes to fuse together, is being used to fuse together the ends of the spinal cord. This technology will be used in Dr. Sergio Canavero’s human head transplant that will take place in two years. This article simplifies the HEAVEN-GEMINI procedure into short paragraphs, allowing the reader to have a better understanding of what will happen in the complex surgery. Additionally, this article states that Canavero expects the recipient to be able to move and feel their face when they wake up and be able to walk in a year.
8. Stoppard, Miriam. “Head Transplants.” The Daily Mirror: 42. Mar 27 2015. ProQuest.Web. 2 Feb. 2016 .