
World’s first head transplant volunteer could experience “worse than death” - ph0rque
http://www.sciencealert.com/world-s-first-head-transplant-volunteer-could-experience-something-worse-than-death
======
dalke
HN has an odd fascination for this surgeon's claim, with over 30 posts to it
over the last two years, when the surgeon's claims first made the news.
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=head%20transplant&sort=byPopul...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=head%20transplant&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)
.

This proposal is unethical. To show why, consider Christiaan Barnard, who did
the first heart transplant.

His first operation failed. So did his next. But his first 50+ attempts were
on dogs, and were eventually successful. Only then did he do a heart
transplant on a person. (Yes, I find it easier to kill dogs to save the lives
of humans than to kill humans for the same reason. Don't mistake that for
thinking I find it easy to kill dogs.) That operation was a success, though
the patient died 18 days later due to pneumonia as he was taking
immunosuppressive drugs.

Where are the dogs with a successful head transplant? Or rats or monkeys or
other mammal?

One of the links a couple of years ago was to
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5972171](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5972171)
:

> Jerry Silver, a colleague of White’s [who did monkey head/body transplant
> experiments in the 1970s] and the neurosurgeon behind the rat spinal cord
> experiment [where a rat's severed head was reconnected with its own body],
> objects to the entire notion of a human head/body transplant. “It’s complete
> fantasy,” he said in an interview with CBS News. Reminiscing about the
> psychic torture that he believes White’s original monkey patient suffered,
> he added, “I remember that the head would wake up, the facial expressions
> looked like terrible pain and confusion and anxiety.” He dismissed
> Canavero’s theory as “bad science.” Given how controversial the monkey
> experiment itself was, it’s highly likely that Silver is one of many.

I like jessriedel's comment in the HN discussion from 647 days ago at
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5972171](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5972171)
:

> There are plenty of crazy doctors out there who make nutzo claims not backed
> up by evidence in their field. One neuroscientist chosen at random is
> probably reasonable and competent, but a neuroscientist chosen conditional
> on publishing an astounding claim that isn't shared by any of his colleagues
> is almost certain to be cray.

~~~
ddorian43
By reading the article, looks like the guy is going to die pretty soon ?

But they didn't specify where would they find the body (it should be fresh,
right?) ?

~~~
dalke
If it's unethical, why does it matter where the body comes from?

~~~
ddorian43
Being unethical doesn't remove my curiosity.

------
jvictor118
This seems simultaneously wonderful and horrifying -- how many deaths could be
avoided if you could simply get a "body transplant" when things go south with
your heart, liver, whatever? Neuroscience would gain a new level of importance
for sure.

And does that bring to mind for anyone that weird movie about where you have
to purchase minutes of life to stay alive? Anyway, creepy, considering how
real the illicit trade in transplant organs is already.

~~~
elcct
Even better if you could held a head alive without the body for a long period
of time. Then you could attach head to a robot or something like that.

~~~
elmar
Futurama Heads in Jars
[http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Heads_in_Jars](http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Heads_in_Jars)

------
ericmo
If the whole thing is about disability, wouldn't the best solution be in stem
cells research?

PS: At least in Shadowrun you only get 6 units of Essence.

------
elmar
[Frankenstein mode=ON]

