Over the past hundred years, many things in medicine have occurred for the first time, including organ transplantation. Now the replacement of the heart, liver or lung is a very real and familiar process. But is it possible to transplant a person’s head? Scientists say that such an accomplishment is not far off, because even a monkey head transplant is a completed stage. When and how will this happen? How did the first experiments in this area take place?
Head transplant difficulties
All systems of our body are closely interconnected. Each organ and cell in it can be compared with cogs and gears working in a holistic mechanism. Central to this complex design is the brain. It is the central point of control, responsible for the most important functions and processes, such as thinking, perception, reactions, etc.
The brain is located in the cranium, and the spinal cord in the spine. Their connection provides us with mobility, supports the work of organs, transmits nerve impulses. Its violation leads to failure of the limbs, paralysis. Head transplantation could solve many problems for people with incurable injuries or genetic diseases. But is it possible?
Currently, doctors have learned to stitch blood vessels, muscles, and bones, but the difficulty lies in the fusion of nerves. They are represented by hundreds of processes and bundles, each of which is responsible for its own group of organs. If all the “wiring” is incorrectly connected, the signals of the brain will come to the wrong parts of the body. In addition, there is a possibility that the transplanted body may perceive the head as a foreign body and try to tear it away.
First attempts
To carry out such a serious and painstaking operation requires an extremely accurate and complex technique. Despite this, the idea of transplantation arose a long time ago. At the beginning of the 20th century, transplantation of heads of monkeys, mice, and dogs was performed repeatedly. For the first time, the American Charles Claude Guthrie decided to experiment.
He chose dogs as objects for the experiment. The operation took place in May 1908, and its results were published in the book of the scientist. For the experiment, Guthrie beheaded only one animal, sewing his head to the body of an entire dog.
So the scientist created the first "two-headed monster." The procedure took no more than twenty minutes. The sewn head was located with the jaw up. Blood circulation began in the body, passed through the attached head, and then returned along the head of the whole dog. The animal appeared movements of the nostrils, tongue, narrowing of the pupils was noted, but soon it died.
The experiments of Demikhov
In the 50s, Vladimir Demikhov became interested in such experiments. The first in the world he transplanted a liver, a lung, created an artificial heart. In 1954, the time came for the head. The scientist attached puppies to the body of adult whole dogs.
The forelimbs were also left to the puppies. The animal was euthanized by anesthesia, the chest was cut to remove the lungs and heart. Then a part of the puppy was sewn to a healthy dog, connecting blood vessels.
The scientist has done 20 head transplant operations. His subjects lived for up to a week, and one pair managed to hold out for a month. Unlike Garty’s experiments, Demikhov’s donor dog retained vital functions. She could drink water, react to those around her, and even bite her “neighbor” when something did not suit her.
Monkey head transplant
The incredible success of Demikhov inspired many experts. He was dubbed the father of transplantology, and his works became widely known abroad. The American neurosurgeon Robert White was carried away by them. In 1970, under his leadership, a monkey head transplant operation took place.
For the experiment, animals similar in weight and physique were chosen. The monkey’s body didn’t move after the transplant, but the sensory organs worked perfectly. She perceived smells, sounds, could see and eat. Waking up, the monkey growled and tried to bite. At first glance, the monkey head transplant was successful.
Soon, the immune system began to reject the head. The animal lasted only nine days. White continued his research in the hope of switching to operations with people. If successful, physicist Stephen Hawking and actor
Christopher Reeve could become his patients
. The public did not approve of the idea of human experiments.
Procedure improvement
The baton with transplants was intercepted only in 2002, having slightly changed the tasks. Prior to this, experiments were aimed at studying transplantation in principle. It was important for scientists to check whether it is possible to connect someone else's head at least to the circulatory system.
Now, they faced another goal - the nervous system. It was necessary not only to attach the head, but also to force it to control a new body. The Japanese took over the solution to the problem. To prevent the rapid death of nerve endings and preserve the motor functions of animals, they cooled the heads and bodies of experimental animals.
The experiments were performed on rats. They cut off their heads, connected the vessels of the head and body with silicone tubes, then proceeded to the nerves. The fibers bonded under a microscope using an ethylene glycol polymer. Then they fastened the spine with plates, sutured muscles and tissues. Animals were able to move their limbs, but they did not live long.
Human experience
Ten years later, this technology was used for an experiment with primates. Under the leadership of the Chinese neurosurgeon Xiaoping Ren, another monkey head transplant took place. Before that, its temperature was reduced to a mark of 15 degrees. The animal’s nerve tissue was not damaged at all, which gave scientists new hope.
Admiration for the work of the Chinese expressed Sergio Canavero. In 2013, he loudly declared that he would perform a similar operation, but already on a person. The Italian is confident that recent experience with the monkey confirmed the readiness of medicine for such a crucial step.
Of course, this requires lengthy preparation. The operation procedure itself needs improvement and practice. After all, success with rats was mixed. Many of the first “patients” remained paralyzed, while others quickly died.
Head transplant to a programmer
Now the scientist is looking for sponsors and a team. The operation is scheduled for December 2017. Sergio Canavero claims that it will take approximately 36 hours. This will require about a hundred surgeons and 12 million dollars.
A volunteer for the operation has already been found. It will be Russian Valery Spiridonov - a programmer from the city of Vladimir. A young man suffers from spinal muscular atrophy. This is a genetic disease in which the muscles of the legs, head and neck are disturbed.
Valery Spiridonov regularly maintains contact with the scientist, discussing the details of the operation and the progress of the project. He is aware of his risk, but believes in the success of a desperate experiment. With his diagnosis, people live very little, but Valery managed to live to 30, graduate from school and university, find work, maybe the next step will turn out to be good luck.
Ethics and Skeptics
The alleged 2017 head transplant caused a stormy reaction in society. Opponents of this idea were divided into two main camps. The former are concerned about the ethical side of the issue, while others are sure that, unfortunately, it is impossible to do such a trick.
Representatives of various faiths believe that the operation is a rivalry with God. Such actions can be safely considered the creation of a new organism, and this is the prerogative of the Creator. In addition, the procedure is considered unnatural. It is contrary to natural laws and intervenes in the Great Plan.
Skeptics are simply convinced that humanity has not yet matured. Many do not deny the possibility of such an operation in the distant future, but not now. The main argument for doubters is the lack of technology development, as well as a host of psychological problems for the patient if the experiment is successful.