30-Year-Old Man Volunteers For The First Human Head Transplant In The World

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Last year, famous Italian neuroscientist Dr. Sergio Canavero surprised the world when he decided to perform the first human head transplant in the world. He announced that this huge procedure will happen in December 2017. Canavero has recruited a head surgeon to lead this historical process.

All of this may sound like something out of a science-fiction movie, but there is one man who is hoping that this operation will improve the quality of his life.

A 30-year-old man from Russia, called Valery Spiridonov, is the first volunteer for the operation in the hope of living a normal life. Mr. Spiridonov is a computer scientist who suffers from very rare motor neuron disorder, better known as Werdnig-Hoffmann Disease. This disorder causes motor neurons to fail. This leads to muscular atrophy and in some cases, difficulty breathing and swallowing. At this time, there is no treatment for this condition.

Pretty bizarre procedure that I doubt would work. Pretty bizarre also that someone would volunteer. What do you think ATS?

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Very old news. There are more recent articles about the procedure now. HuffPost seems to be lagging behind a bit ^_^

And remember, people doubted heart transplants and hand/arm/leg transplants would work, but they did.

originally posted by: Tjoran
a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Very old news. There are more recent articles about the procedure now. HuffPost seems to be lagging behind a bit ^_^

And remember, people doubted heart transplants and hand/arm/leg transplants would work, but they did.

Oops. I had not heard of this yet. This procedure seems much more unlikely though to me than Hands/arms/legs.

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Unlikely, Or just more complicated?

originally posted by: Tjoran
a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Very old news. There are more recent articles about the procedure now. HuffPost seems to be lagging behind a bit ^_^

And remember, people doubted heart transplants and hand/arm/leg transplants would work, but they did.

Ray Milland's head was transplanted to Rosie Grier's body fourty-four years ago.

Dang... I mean with what little knowledge I have on the whole spinal column, vital veins/arteries, nerves and muscles in the neck, I cannot fathom how this could be (currently) possible.

On the other hand, if the doc is offering this procedure, then he must be pretty confident...

.... Or a mad scientist.

In any event, kudos to the volunteer! I have the utmost confidence in the way science/tech is advancing medicine, so I'm sure one day we'll be able to do this, making this fella part of the road to success.

I really hope it goes perfectly. But, I've got a bad feeling about this...

If this worked would the volunteer be himself or someone else then? Doesn't a head transplant also mean the brain gets swapped to?

If successful this guy will probably be paralyzed IMO I can't see how they will do this, good luck to them I guess.

a reply to: iTruthSeeker
I can't help thinking that this proposed operation is being described the wrong way round.
Surely it would not be Mr Spiridonov's body getting a new head, but somebody else's head (and identity) getting a new body.

originally posted by: Tjoran
a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Very old news. There are more recent articles about the procedure now. HuffPost seems to be lagging behind a bit ^_^

And remember, people doubted heart transplants and hand/arm/leg transplants would work, but they did.

Huff post always lag behind. Damn it, they even come here occasionally to run with a story.

Head transplant. If this works, we have to question everything.

It won't work, ffs!!

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Who gets the head...I mean who gets the body.

Hold on, exactly what part of this guy is getting stuck onto what part of the other guy?

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

i wonder where they are going to get a whole healthy body.

when people die there's usually something medically wrong or some sort of trauma.
what are they gonna do fix the bodies first then transplant, or get all the depressed people that want to commit suicide to sign up for whole body donation, or maybe do the frankenstein thing.

I'm guessing the volunteer feels he has nothing to lose undergoing this risky procedure.He has no control of his body now.

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Actually head transplants have already been done on dogs and a monkey. The videos of the animals afterwards are quite unnerving IMO.

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Does anyone know if this procedure has successfully been done on animals ever?
Isn't that the usual thing with experimental medical procedures?

a reply to: MissSmartypants
Video of a successfull (?) human head transplant;

originally posted by: MissSmartypants
a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Actually head transplants have already been done on dogs and a monkey. The videos of the animals afterwards are quite unnerving IMO.

You must have replied while I was typing, but I find that amazing! I didn't know they could re grow/bind the spinal column as yet, do you have any links for those vids you mention, or to any further info if not?

originally posted by: MissSmartypants
a reply to: iTruthSeeker

Actually head transplants have already been done on dogs and a monkey. The videos of the animals afterwards are quite unnerving IMO.

I saw a dog one years ago and wasn't sure if it was real. It was very eerie.

wouldn't he be paralyzed? why cant they fix some paralyzed people but will transplant an entire head.. really intriguing
wait... wouldn't he lose his memory too?

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

So you see your girlfriend walking down the street in the expensive part of town, she look's different but you know it is her and are shocked as the doctor's told you she had serious head injury's in that 5 mile's per hour car crash she had with a cardboard box, of course you all accepted it freak accident's happen all the time and you even attended her funeral, an empty casket as her body had been taken for organ transplant's.

You try to talk to her and the stranger behind her eye's whom paid well for this body, a male in a female body just the type he always liked to ogle at call's security and accuses you of harassing him/her.

You can't prove it but that 60 years old stranger in your girlfriend's body bought her to order and the private hospital murdered her, she was never dead as they wanted her body intact and without injury so her brain injury only existed on paper but you can never prove it.

Cue a potential and very, very likely scenario about 10 years after Head transplant's become a normal but rare operation which only the wealthy can afford, they want head's and faces that match so by this point have moved to leaving as much of the patient's head as possible in place such as her face and facial bone structure, having mastered the spinal connection the optic nerves were child's play so even her eye's are left in place.

The recipient of the murdered girl's stolen body was always a deviant of sort's and wanted to know what the grass was like on the other side as well as divorce his sixth wife whom was very disappointed that he did not legally die.

Cue a very scary sci/fi sci/fact story with twist's and turn's, murders and a black market in healthy young beautiful body's and face's for a rich clientele.

Sadly it is a science fiction story that IS likely to become Truth within a generation if not sooner.

You know those illuminate asshole's if they are real, well this is there future, changing body's, using stem cell regeneration on there brain's to reverse and prevent neural decay and living nearly immortally in a series of victim's, perhaps even cloned for this very purpose (but they would not have them waiting floating around in tank's as they would wan't health body's with active immune system's and athletic outgoing life style's so these clone's would likely live never knowing there fate as simply guy's and gal's or even in closed community's).

originally posted by: Brotherman
If this worked would the volunteer be himself or someone else then? Doesn't a head transplant also mean the brain gets swapped to?

That isn't just a philosophical question, but a very practical legal issue.
If the outcome of the operation was one living individual, which of the two "donors" would be legally dead for inheritance purposes? The one with the largest estate and greediest heirs?
Presumably he would remember the account passwords etc. of the head donor rather than the body donor, so it would be more practical to allow that to determine his identity.