The world’s first human head transplant allegedly took place in China on Friday on two corpses, completed by one of the most controversial doctors today.
Sergio Canavero, the Italian surgeon behind the procedure, says that he plans to do the same procedure on two brain-dead patients next, followed by an “imminent” surgery with a living person, according to Fox News.
Canavero described the surgery on Friday at a press conference in Vienna, explaining how his team had removed the head from one corpse and placed it on the second corpse, fusing the spine, blood vessels and nerves.
The procedure to be done on a living patient is scheduled for December in China, primarily because the United States and Europe have refused to have anything to do with it. Medical professionals have said that there have not been enough trials or studies, citing both ethical issues and the potential of extreme pain after such an operation.
There is plenty of mystery surrounding the living patient, whose healthy head would be reassigned to the healthy body of a brain-dead person, though this would technically be a “body transplant” instead of a head transplant, USA Today reports.
Originally, the recipient was supposed to be Valery Spiridonov, a 33-year-old Russian who has a muscle-wasting disease. But a new release earlier this year said that a Chinese citizen has taken Spiridonov’s place for the process, with Canavero saying that there have been a “high number” of people volunteering. The reason for the switch in patients is said to be because of the location.
Canavero appears confident in his skills, saying that the procedure has a 90% chance of success. However, scientists say that the doctor and Xiaoping Ren, of the Harbin Medical University in China, have not presented enough evidence to convince everyone else that the transplant will be a success. Canavero has provided a brief outline of what will happen, but has given very little information on the steps involved.
