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In the current state of medical science, it’s possible to transplant practically every part of the human body with one exception; the brain. However, one Italian brain surgeon is committed to actually doing this by taking out a brain from a body, freezing it, and then transplanting it into a new body. This is fringe science at its most terrifying.
For all intents and purposes, a brain transplant operation is currently considered impossible. Scientists simply haven’t found a way to safely do this. This isn’t stopping neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero from trying, however, with his plan to conduct this operation within a period of three years, Ars Technica reports.
Now, it’s worth noting that scientists flirt with issues of morality all the time. However, experiments and studies that push the boundaries of what is humanely allowed should at least by tethered by the scientific method. Canavero is notorious for publishing findings that are horrifyingly lacking in controls, precise methodology, and meticulous data tracking.
For example, he tried to prove that transplanting a human head onto a different body is possible via animal experiments. The images and videos he released were not only gruesome, they were entirely rejected by the greater scientific community.
Canavero will have the chance to prove his detractors wrong in 10 months when he goes to China and performs the transplant on a local. The neurosurgeon confirmed as much during his interview with the German website, Ooom.
“The world’s first human head transplant will be conducted in less than ten months,” Canavero told the site. “The Chinese team of doctors is led on site by Dr. Xiaoping Ren of Harbin Medical University, a close friend of mine and an extraordinarily capable surgeon. The operation will be conducted in Harbin.”
If this proves successful, Canavero will be vindicated, which should give him enough fuel to move on to a brain transplant. The Italian doctor will take a brain that was frozen while submerged in liquid nitrogen at -196 Celsius (-320 degrees Fahrenheit), Futurism reports, and then place it inside the head of a dead body. The plan is outlandish enough to conjure images of Frankenstein’s monster in one’s mind.
