Dr. Frankenstein Alive?

Inspired by the quote, “science has…bestowed upon man powers which may be called creative; which have enabled him to change and modify the beings around him…” (Davy, 1812), Mary Shelley wrote about a mad scientist named Dr. Frankenstein, who created a live monster formed out of the various body parts from cadavers. A horror story from the 19^th century has become a reality for science beginning in the 1970s. Robert White was successful in transplanting a rhesus monkey head onto the body of another one, whose head had also been removed, and lived “normal” life for 8 days (Ren & Canavero, 2016; Lamba, Holsgrove, & Broekman, 2016). With this success, the possibility of a human head transplant became imminent.

The head anastomosis venture (HEAVEN) project was created as a solution to the medicine’s failure to treat chronically ill patients. Canavero (2013) suggests that the first patient should ideally be young and suffering from progressive muscular dystrophies or metabolic disorders, while the brain is still intact. This proposes the question of “why live with a damaged body when you can transplant yourself onto a healthier one?”

Researchers have been limited by their ability to reconnect the spinal cords of the donor’s and the recipient’s (Ausman, 2018); however, many believe that the technology to do so exists now. The development of GEMINotome, a sharp nanometer-grade blade, as well as a negative pressure micro-connecter for polyethylene glycol (PEG) used to repair cell membranes after injury, have been implemented in trial experiments by surgeons and researchers in China on a human corpse (Canavero, 2013). The procedure, outlined by Canavero (2013), includes lowering the body temperature of the bodies to be in a hypothermic state, severing the arteries while maintaining normal pressure, the circulation of the donor’s and recipient’s blood, and reconnection of the spinal cords, resulting in a (hopefully) successful transplant. This surgery used to take 36 hours, but Canavero managed to cut time to 18 hours.

Of course, this has generated mass criticism, especially against Canavero, and questioned the ethics of head transplantation. An Italian surgeon based in Italy originally, Canavero moved to China to perform these experiments. The United States and Europe would not allow this experimentation to take place, yet in China, many people are ready to volunteer to be the first patient to undergo this transplantation. With many ethical and legal considerations, are we truly ready to have a head transplant to save the human mind?

Ausman, J. I. (2018). Is it time to perform the first human head transplant? Comment on the CSA (cephalosomatic
anastomosis) paper by Ren, Canavero, and colleagues. Surgical Neurology International, 9. Doi: 10.4103/sni.sni_471_17

Canavero, S. (2013). HEAVEN: The head anastomosis venture Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage (GEMINI). Surgical Neurology International, 4(Suppl 1), S335–S342. doi: 10.4103/2152-7806.113444

Lamba, N., Holsgrove, D., & Broekman, M. L. (2016). The history of head transplantation: A review. Acta Neurochirurgica, 158(12), 2239–2247. doi: 0.1007/s00701-016-2984-0

Ren, X., & Canavero, S. (2016). Human head transplantation. Where do we stand and a call to arms. Surgical Neurology International, 7.  doi: 10.4103/2152-7806.175074