The next goal is a head transplant. I am not kidding. Dr. Sergio Canavero, a renowned neurosurgeon and director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group in Turin, Italy, will try it on Valery Spiridonov, a Russian 30-year-old who has a rare muscle condition called Werdnig-Hoffmann disorder, a.k.a. spinal muscular atrophy, which causes one's muscles to waste away and has no known cure. May I introduce you to Mr. Spiridonov?
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The operation will reportedly last up to 36 hours and cost an estimated $11 million. The entire procedure will require the assistance of around 150 doctors and nurses.
Spiridonov's new body will be taken from "a brain-dead but otherwise healthy donor," but Spiridonov's brain will be cooled down to between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit to prolong the time brain cells can survive without oxygen. The spinal cord will be cut with a special scalpel that's especially sharp, and the head will be reconnected to the new body and spinal cord with "a special biological glue."
Once the operation is finished, Spiridonov will be put into a coma for around three to four weeks to prevent any movement, and his body will be given immunosuppressents so the body doesn't reject the new head.
"I'm very interested in technology, and anything progressive that might change people's lives for the better," Spiridonov told RT. "Doing this isn't only an excellent opportunity for me, but will also create a scientific basis for future generations, no matter what the actual outcome of the surgery is."
Courtesy of Business Insider
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