An Italian doctor, Dr. Sergio Canavero unveils plans to perform the first human head transplant, says he believes he has a 90 percent chance of success.
He gives the idea to potential donors and scientists at a conference of the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeons in Annapolis, Maryland, Friday, Agence France Presse reported.
He met his first volunteer : Russian born, Valery Spiridonov , 30 who has a progressive and incurable wasting disease called Werdnig-Hoffmann disease.
He said, $100 million need for his work.
Head transplants are not unprecedented — at least on animals. In the 1970s, Robert White transplanted heads on monkeys, but because he was unable to restore the animals’ spinal function, they soon died. And Chinese doctor Xiaoping Ren has had some success with mouse head transplants, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Canavero explained how he would mend the severed spinal cord and relayed the many advances of spinal cord restoration in animals. He told that his effort is success involves the use of a certain special blade to cut the cord along with polyethylene gluycol and an electrical current to quickly reconnect severed nerve fibers.
In spite of the skepticism, Canavero, who announced his project in 2013, said he will be able to perform a successful head transplant by 2016.
– IBTimes
Leave a Reply