The first ever human head transplant is now possible, a neurosurgeon has claimed.

 

Dr Sergio Canavero believes that the technology now exists that will allow surgeons to carry out the Frankenstein-style procedure, which has been tested out on animals since 1970.

 

Up until now there has been no way to successfully reconnect the spinal cord, leaving the subjects paralysed from the point where the transplant was connected.

 

Recent advances have meant that re-connecting the spinal cord is now possible, and it is believed that the breakthrough means that previously fatal diseases could be cured.

 

However, other experts have dismissed the idea.

 

Professor Anthony Warrens, from the British Transplantation Society, told the Sun: "Connecting a head to a body is worthless to human beings today. The whole concept is bizarre."

 

In 1970 Robert White successfully transplanted the head of a rhesus monkey onto the body of a second rhesus, and Dr Canavero, a member of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, has proposed using a similar method.

 

He said: “The greatest technical hurdle to such endeavour is of course the reconnection of the donor's and recipient's spinal cords. It is my contention that the technology only now exists for such linkage,” he wrote.

 

“It is argued that several up to now hopeless medical conditions might benefit from such procedure.”

 

He believes that it a team of 100 could perform the operation in 36 hours — at a cost of £8.5million.

 

Both heads would have to be removed at the same time, and reconnected within an hour.

 

"This is no longer science fiction. This could be done today — now. If this operation is done it will provide a few people with a substantial amount of extra life,” he said. “The only reason I have not gone further is funding."

 

However, Dr Calum Mackellar, from the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, added: "This sounds like something from a horror movie."

 

据外国媒体7月3日报道，日前，意大利都灵一位名叫塞尔吉奥•卡纳韦罗的神经外科医生表示，人类可能实现头颅移植。

 

头颅移植主要的障碍就是脊髓的再接合，移植完成后如果无法实现脊髓结合，病人就将瘫痪。不过，最近的科研进展让这一切成为可能，这种突破意味着以前许多不治之症也有救了。

 

1970年，美国神经外科医生罗伯特•怀特成功将一个猕猴的头颅移植到另一个猕猴身上，因此，卡纳韦罗医生也想利用相似的方法进行人类头颅移植。“这种先 进的技术不仅存在于科幻小说中了，如今在现实生活中也可以实现。如果这种手术能成功的话，那么将会给一部分人带来福音，他们的生命或许会因此延续，”卡纳 韦罗说。

 

卡纳韦罗认为，100名医生组成的导师小组在36小时内就可以完成这种手术，手术过程中供体和受体的头颅要同时分离，并在1小时内完成交换的重新接合。该手术的成本花费大约为850万美元。“目前，我没有继续研究下去的原因就是资金问题。”

 

“这项技术的障碍就是供体和受体的脊髓接合。我认为目前的技术可以克服这一障碍。一些不治之症也可能因此受益。”卡纳韦罗说。

 

但英国移植器官学会的安东尼•沃伦教授在接受媒体采访时表示：“目前对于人类来说，移植头颅是毫无意义的，这种想法令人匪夷所思。”

 

苏格兰人类生命伦理委员会的卡鲁姆•马克凯勒也说：“这听上去像是恐怖影片中的某个画面。”

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