Science has certainly come a long way in helping us extend our lives, where once incurable diseases have been beaten, although there is still a long way to go before we manage to achieve an Utopian era where diseases are no more and relegated to the history bin. Some of the more advanced medical procedures include organ transplants, and heck, even a battery operated brain for those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, but a head transplant is unheard of.
I mean, we do have cultures that indulged in headhunting before, but to transplant one head to a different body? A paper that was published in last month’s issue of Surgical Neurology International touted a method which transplanted a human head using advanced neurosurgery. It has been given the code-name HEAVEN/GEMINI (Head Anastomosis Venture with Cord Fusion), the entire process was outlined by Dr. Sergio Canavero of Italy’s Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group.
It seemed that the main hurdle which prevented a successful head transplant was the inability to attach a head’s spine to a donor body, but Canavero thinks otherwise, touting that, “It is my contention that the technology only now exists for such linkage. This paper sketches out a possible human scenario and outlines the technology to reconnect the severed cord…” Earlier experiments in the 1970s with animals proved to have limited success, and perhaps time will be able to see Canavero’s plan come to fruition. I guess all you Highlander immortals have one less thing to worry about, eh?
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