

Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage - nkurz
http://www.surgicalneurologyint.com/article.asp?issn=2152-7806;year=2013;volume=4;issue=2;spage=335;epage=342;aulast=Canavero

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bradleyboy
If there ever was a time to wait for version 1.1 of something, this would be
it.

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collin128
Couldn't agree more. I'd hate to be the guy stuck with the buggy beta.

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flyinRyan
Well, presumably the alternative is to die...

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jtheory
Interesting, though mostly because of our gut reactions, not because there's
anything terribly complicated or new about the moral repercussions, etc.. It's
not much different from normal organ donation in most respects.

From the article:

I have not addressed the ethical aspects of HEAVEN. In Thomas Mann's "'The
Transposed Heads," two friends, the intellectual Shridaman and the earthy
Nanda, behead themselves. Magically, their severed heads are restored - but to
the wrong body, and Shridaman's wife, Sita, is unable to decide which
combination represents her real husband. The story is further complicated by
the fact that Sita happens to be in love with both men. This short story
highlights the ethical dilemma that must be faced: The HEAVEN created
"chimera" would carry the mind of the recipient but, should he or she
reproduce, the offspring would carry the genetic inheritance of the donor.

However, it is equally clear that horrible conditions without a hint of hope
of improvement cannot be relegated to the dark corner of medicine. This paper
lays out the groundwork for the first successful human head transplant.

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DanBC
There's some research that shows our body "chooses" to do something before our
mind tells it to.

So, swapping the body seems like it could be exciting for this kind of stuff.

I think it's fascinating that we can't keep a head alive on a machine (I
wonder how much body can be removed and still, using machines, have a living
brain / head?) but that we can transplant a head.

The paper isn't loading for me at the moment, but what do they mean by "spinal
linkage"? If we can transplant a head why can't we fix broken back injuries?
(Or can we, and I just don't know?)

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serf
"During the GEMINI procedure, the surgeons will cut the cooled spinal cords
with an ultra-sharp blade: This is of course totally different from what
happens in clinical spinal cord injury, where gross damage and scarring hinder
regeneration. It is this "clean cut" the key to spinal cord fusion, in that it
allows proximally severed axons to be "fused" with their distal counterparts.
This fusion exploits so-called fusogens/sealants."

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ch
Considering that a face transplant currently requires a lifetime regimine of
immunosuppressives
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_transplant#Ethics.2C_Surge...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_transplant#Ethics.2C_Surgery_and_Post-
Operation_treatment)) in order to have post-op acceptance of the transplant by
the host, I would expect nothing less in this more extreme form of surgery.

I would hate to be the recipient of this procedure; then fin my body (their
body?) rejecting the transplant!

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sentinel
Would it be the body or the head that rejects the transplant? And what would
actually happen if it is rejected? Sudden death? Slow death?

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bradleyland
Both.

However, in this scenario, the body would have a distinct advantage (if you
can call it that), given the disparity in mass and organ distribution. The
body would have far more immune system capacity than the head in this case.
White blood cells, for example, are produced in the bone marrow.

I'm no doctor, but given the importance of the brain and your spinal cord to
even just the nervous system, I'd imagine that death would come rather quickly
in an all out rejection.

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viraptor
I'm interested to know how does the anaesthetic work in this case. It wasn't
mentioned in details (or maybe I missed it), but since most substances are
transferred in blood stream how would they go about it? Wouldn't reconnection
to another body completely mess up the process? Or maybe the temperature drop
would be enough to keep the current state.

Either way - in happy to hear how close we are to the world of yesterday's
science fiction.

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shin_lao
The head is technically dead for a short time and kept refrigerated. Also keep
in mind there is no signal to be received by the brain in the first place
since the spinal chord has been severed.

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shin_lao
I'm not sure I see the point. It's already extremly difficult to transplant
one organ and make it last, so a whole body?

Maybe as temporary measure while massive (deadly?) treatments are performed on
the original body?

Last but not least, if you transplant a head on a new body and this new body
has children, whose children are they? Is our identity only in the head?

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tinco
You are not transplanting a whole body, you are transplanting a head. If this
paper is to be believed, there is a smaller risk of a hyperallergenic reaction
for some reason. IANAD, but maybe it's because the head has no organs in the
sense that it doesn't contribute to the production/purification of blood.

There's all kinds of afflictions that might threaten your life but not your
head, from cancer that's spread to a critical organ to blunt trauma to any
critical trauma. If something destroys your body, this might be the last and
only solution.

The children will be biologically of the new body you have. I don't think
anyone has written a law on this yet, but I suppose the children will be
legally yours, and yours to raise and culture :)

Most of our identities is in our heads, though some things linked to your
character are linked with things in your body. Perhaps your appetite is, and
perhaps your preference for sporting/outdoor/indoor activities. I bet a lot of
this is not yet well known or researched, and the world would be very
intrigued by how you feel about things after the surgery!

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akanet
"Want to lose ~150 lbs fast?"

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StavrosK
That's not very imaginative. "Tired of having a man's body? Get a woman's!"

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randallsquared
_I Will Fear No Evil_ was one of Heinlein's odder novels.

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StavrosK
Hmm, I'm not familiar with it. Is it good?

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randallsquared
If you like late-period Heinlein, it's good. Or at least fun. If you feel his
work declined after or starting with Stranger, then this novel will fulfill
your expectations.

There's nothing really ground-breaking in it (at least, from the standpoint of
the late 1980s, when I read it).

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StavrosK
Ah, thank you, I'll read a bit of it and see if I like it.

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Narretz
Page tells me required url params are missing, but the url is shown and no
required params are missing. Maybe a different error that hasn't been handled
correctly?

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anigbrowl
The modern Prometheus, indeed.

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drakeandrews
Does anyone have a copy of the text? All I'm getting is a blank page.

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Fpckalk
Removing the "o" from "Canavero" in the URL did the job for me. Don't know
why, but there you go.

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chevalric
It would be a great, fast way to get the body you always wanted :D.

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mtrimpe
Except it'll feel like someone else's body ...

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chevalric
I'd fear more that with a continuation of my life style the new body would
eventually turn into the old one ;)

