Is it Possible to Transplant a Human Head?

The idea of transplanting the head of one creature to another is far from a new idea. We only have to look at literature to see a rich history of head transplants taking place for hundreds of years, most notably in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Scientists have even attempted to make the practice a reality.

Back in 1954, the first head transplant involving two dogs was attempted in the Soviet Union. After several attempts to combine canines, which resulted in the dogs only surviving a maximum of six days, the practice was abandoned. Then in 1970, a research team in Cleveland, Ohio, embarked upon a similar experiment involving monkeys. Again, the monkey only lived nine days after its immune system rejected the new head.

The surgery has never been performed upon humans… perhaps until now. Sergio Canavero, a member of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group in Italy, has proposed plans to conduct the first human head transplant by 2017.

Overcoming the Obstacles

Science and medicine has overcome many obstacles in its fascinating history. Now, we are not only able to perform complicated liver transplants, but also prevent the risk of disease and infection after the operation. Similar success has been achieved with kidney transplant patients and all manner of other operations which would have been thought ludicrously implausible and ambitious several decades ago.

But a head transplant poses the biggest obstacle that this branch of medicine will have faced as yet. Quite aside from the obvious problem of making sure the immune system does not reject the new head, there is also the huge difficulties in severing and reattaching the spinal cord, keeping the organs alive and healthy without oxygen for a prolonged period and inducing a coma long enough for the muscles, blood cells and organs to repair themselves.

Even if the spinal cord were able to be attached (which many see as the chief problem in the operation), there is no guarantee it would lead to cognitive function or verbal ability. Richard Borgens, who is director of the Indiana Center for Paralysis Research and an outspoken sceptic on the subject, said: “There is no evidence that the connectivity of cord and brain would lead to useful sentient or motor function following head transplantation.”

The Ethical Problem

Of course, even if Canavero gains enough support for his project, goes ahead with the operation and it is a complete success, there is the huge ethical quandary to consider. Is such an operation even morally viable at all?

Many religions and cultures around the globe believe in the existence of a soul which is not confined to the brain. Such a belief would surely find the transplant of a human head a repugnant and blasphemous idea, and it is sure to meet with much global opposition.

Meanwhile, there is also the concern that if the operation is achievable, it has the potential to become a cosmetic luxury rather than a life-saving necessity. Where would we draw the line? Clearly the situation is a grey area in more ways than one – but in theory, the human head transplant could be possible. Only time will tell.