Two years away from being able to put your head on a new body?

originally posted by: Soylent Green Is People
Ray Milland just hopes they pick some "body" other than Rosey Grier's:

Too funny!

originally posted by: Foderalover
It has already been done on a monkey , I couldn't bear to watch it to see the progress or outcome. There are tons of monkey head transplant documentaries on youtube. If anyone wants to watch them and tell me if it is working out Id love to know but Im not watching that.

Yes, you know if we're hearing about this now then that means it's already been in the works for years now.

I KNEW exercise was over rated... now I can wait for the early demise of a gym rat and have my noggin spliced onto his and reap the benefits of years of mindless sweating and toil... yay!

So maybe people's heads can be living in glass containers like in Futurama. What about The Heart, though? Isn't that the first organ to develop?

What's the difference between living purely as a brain rather than a heart, scientifically?

originally posted by: arpgme
So maybe people's heads can be living in glass containers like in Futurama. What about The Heart, though? Isn't that the first organ to develop?

What's the difference between living purely as a brain rather than a heart, scientifically?

Our brains need something to provide a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients. In our bodies, blood provides that oxygen and nutrients; the heart is the pump that provides the constant supply of that blood through our brains. A brain in a jar would need another way of supplying blood to it, or another way of supplying oxygen and nutrients other than via blood.

Other organs in our bodies keep the blood oxygenated (the lungs) and keep the blood clean (the liver), so they (or an artificial analogue) would be important, too, if their was blood or some other liquid still supplying oxygen and nutrients to the brain-in-a-jar.

originally posted by: FinalCountdown
I'm already on top of this.
In the process of cloning myself now.
The new body will be ready for the transplant when its about 18 years old and done growing to adult size.

Should be ready to attach my "self" to it in 17.5 years!

The first thing I'm going to do is go surfing!

Then maybe some marathon sex.

Maybe??

MAYBE?!

and... AFTER surfing?! What if a shark bites it off? Could you wait another 18 years?

a reply to: lostbook

So what kind of person is ok with having their head severed?
Not to mention sown on a different body like Frankenstiens
monster. Seems really stupid to even contemplate.

originally posted by: randyvs
a reply to: lostbook

So what kind of person is ok with having their head severed?
Not to mention sown on a different body like Frankenstiens
monster. Seems really stupid to even contemplate.

If the body was failing due to damage and disease, I could see some people may want this. It's basically a whole-body transplant, similar in concept to a kidney transplant or heart transplant for people whose kidneys or heart have failed.

Otherwise, I could see people with elderly bodies that could soon fail want newer ones before their old ones fail them.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

I'm sorry Green, but I wouldn't be one of those people.
This quack is going to be severing heads, the spinal chord
even. Maintaining life for a disembodied head, this is ridiculous!
Silent hill anyone?

originally posted by: randyvs
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

I'm sorry Green, but I wouldn't be one of those people.
This quack is going to be severing heads, the spinal chord
even. Maintaining life for a disembodied head, this is ridiculous!
Silent hill anyone?

I'm sure the thought of getting a transplanted heart would have been considered similarly repulsive to people a hundred+ years ago (and is still repulsive to some people today).

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

So you see no difference?

originally posted by: randyvs
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

So you see no difference?

Right now I do, considering that the technology does not yet exist -- and I doubt it will exist in 2 years.

However, I do foresee a day in the future (maybe 100+ years) that our brains -- which is basically what we are/who we are -- could be transferred to another body, whether the other body be real or artificial, and it could become a relatively commonplace idea. If heart transplants have become a relatively commonplace procedure, then why not a whole-body transplant.

However, and having said that, for the whole body to be in undamaged condition, it would probably need to be a clone of sorts (hopefully a mindless clone), or be artificially constructed, or be donated by someone who dies of brain trauma or brain disease.

In one experiment they transplanted a monkey head to a new monkey body which stayed alive for 7 days. It died because the body rejected the head. So in order for this to work they would need to solve that problem of the body rejecting the head.

It seems a little outdated to do a head transplant, I think soon they will have better solutions like stem cell rejuvenation or altering genes. Not to mention the head would be old and aged compared to the new body.

originally posted by: randyvs
a reply to: lostbook

So what kind of person is ok with having their head severed?
Not to mention sown on a different body like Frankenstiens
monster. Seems really stupid to even contemplate.

Plenty of desperate people would be willing!

A terminal illness and days/weeks from death. Someone paralysed from the neck down etc, etc.

a reply to: big_BHOY

Sounds really great! Do you think they'll one day
be able to do the surgery with patient fully awake
the whole time? That would be really cool!

a reply to: lostbook

And the story about the man who received a woman's hand. And the problems he had when going to the toilet.

Soviets did this some time back, (1920's-30's)... transplanting dog and monkey heads. Course they didn't have any nervous system connection to their transplanted host, just a head kept alive with blood and oxygen. Abhorrent.

a reply to: lostbook

They could do it under the table and eliminate waiting for approval, then later, when groups are all in an uproar, the patient who is now running the 100 in 5 seconds is home free. No court is ever going to to make him/her reverse the procedure and kill himself.