But is a head transplant even possible?
chronic neuropathic pain, and the toxicity of immunosuppressant drugs used toprevent organ rejection.
What Is a Head Transplant?
Ruben Earth / Getty Images
To date, there has been minimal success with head transplants performed on mice, dogs, and monkeys.
To date, head transplants in humans have only been limited to human cadavers.
No head transplant has been performed with a living human recipient.
Canavero claims to have a long list of volunteers willing to step into his place.
This is more or less how organ transplants are currently managed and regulated.
It would also be limited by the availability of donors.
A head transplant would not extend to someone whose body fails from natural aging.
This would preserve the health and function of the tissues.
Because multiple organs are involved, the evaluation will likely be more extensive than a single organ transplant.
Current law would suggest that the selection process would begin onlyafterthe recipient has died.
Currently, there is no index or donation system set up for head transplantation.
The costs would likely be prohibitive, and health insurance coverage would be minimal to nil.
Head Transplant Procedure
No head transplant has yet been performed on a human.
Nevertheless, surgeons interested in the procedure have prepared preliminary protocols planning the steps of a future head transplant.
These protocols, based on research from animal and cadaver studies, are not endorsed by any health authority.
Moreover, lessons learned from animal or cadaver studies are not always applicable to a live human subject.
In the proposed protocol, four surgical teams would work simultaneously on the recipient and donor.
Blood oxygen, body temperature, and blood pressure are monitored to ensure vital signs are maintained.
The inducedhypothermiahelps preserve tissue during the long transplantation process.
Recipient Preparation
While the donor is prepared, the recipient is anesthetized to put them to sleep.
Brain activity is monitored with anelectrocardiogram (EEG)to ensure their brain function is stable.
Hypothermia is again induced and may be accompanied by a cooling helmet able to consistently maintain temperatures.
After Surgery
Surgery is followed by prolonged monitoring in the ICU.
The head, neck, and spine will be stabilized to maximize spinal cord fusion.
This can lead to severe brain damage,stroke, or brain death.
The immune system may also reject the transplanted tissue, the consequence of which is life-threatening.
Prognosis
There is no reliable information to predict how a human would do after a head transplant.
Lifelong immunosuppression would be necessary to prevent organ rejection.
Summary
It is unlikely that a head transplant will be successfully performed in humans anytime soon.
Parr Center for Ethics.Head transplant.
2015;(8):615-8. doi:10.1111/cns.12422
