World's first human head transplant discussion

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

So I love reading interesting scientific & technological journals and actually find a lot of interesting stuff often times. I came across this a couple of days ago and decided I would drop a link and get some opinions and thoughts on the following if for no other reason it is as much morbid as it is fascinating. Also, I felt this was more of normal discussion material and not intense debate material so I placed it here. If mods and admins feel it would be better in the debate pit or if the thread goes in some direction I am not expecting, please feel free to relocate it there. Thanks.

Human head transplants

So the worlds first possible human head transplant. Possibly the beginning for a new age in modern medicine. If you consider, there are so many things that could be solved here if this not only goes through, but is successful... it is rather intriguing to think about. People suffering from permanent injuries, amputations and paralysis, physical disabilities and deformities and possibly even different types of diseases and malignancies could all become treatable in the right circumstances. And this opens the door for more advanced methods in transplant technology which will both further our knowledge in the field of human medicine, and allow us to improve upon it leading to more lives saved and transformed.

Of course it does open up the question about ethics and morality.... but I think as long as people know what they are getting into, and the proper donor paperwork is filled out and the donors wishes are being taken care of, this is not really as much an issue as I have seen some say. Of course it does bring up where suitable headless bodies will be acquired from and if successful exactly who the person will be now. After all it would be two different people on record, becoming one person.... how will they be identified going forward?

 

What do you think? Is this too much of playing with God and delving into the realm of Frankenstein? Or is it the future of medicine and surgery and just another hurdle to face in our desire to repair the human body? Would you be willing to donate your body to such a procedure if something unthinkable happened to you, or have your head placed upon a new body if something caused your old body to be of no use to you anymore?

[Brony Number 42 10,096]

Technically it would be a body transplant, not a head transplant. The head is the part they keep.

[Techno Universal 2,576]

Well to be honest this is the first step to the human cyborg evolution. As soon we will have people with computers implanted in their brains to operate along side with them. So basically we will have people that are half human half computer. Soon people will be able to access the Internet through their minds because of this. 

Edited May 5, 2017 by Techno Universal

[Mesme Rize 15,692]

Well, i find it very interesting myself. I heard about this being planned for quite awhile now and that the test subject certainly does this freely and is aware of the dangers that could come out of this. I think as long as the patient is okay with this and if the donator is okay with it, i say go for it. I really hope that this experiment goes well, as this would give millions of people in this world, that where told that they would be bounded on wheel chair for life hope, as they start to become independent and giving them a second chance.

[zerox 1,339]

I find this to be quite sick.

I hope they find something else that is more useful. I would never want that anything like this would be done on myself.

[No Longer Used 43]

I see nothing wrong with it. If the person being operated on wishes to go through with it and are aware of the precautions, dangers, and possible results after the operation or before such, they are free to. The human world is advancing and raising the limits of what technology can do. Maybe one day we could become a advanced species of human beings.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Teensy

[Jeric 46,889]

5 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

Possibly the beginning for a new age in modern medicine

Yes, but likely not in the way some expect. The degree of difficulty in just reattaching some complex nerves (like the trigeminal as one example) limits how much of an impact that this would have in medical science. Multi nerve reattachments are so mind boggling in their complexity that even successful face transplants have not led to a flood of similar surgeries. When a surgery is absurdly difficult, it doesn't lend itself to many who would attempt it even if they are capable. 

That said, it will open the door to methods that may treat other conditions without going the Futurama route. Many spinal cord injuries are limited in treatment avenues. What we would learn from this procedure may open more advanced application of cervical and thoracic nerve damage repairs. 

That makes this operation far more crucial than just the morbid interest it generates. 

I also find no ethical or moral issues here or in future operations, provided they follow informed consent rules, donor allotment rules, etc. The only question that some may raise is that one donor body can save multiple lives and not just one. 

[Luigi 7,871]

This all sounds creepy. I hope they don't make me undergo this surgery. I wouldn't want to put my trust in a surgery that sounds like it could kill me. More importantly, I'm happy being a baby.

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

4 hours ago, BronyNumber42 said:

Technically it would be a body transplant, not a head transplant. The head is the part they keep.

Yes, that would be technically accurate... considering the terminology comes from the original experiments carried out by Vladimir Demikhov and later Robert White. It also was really coined more for the idea of placing a living brain into a whole new body and not so much an entire head, as this for years was one of the holy grails of transplant technology..

By calling it a head transplant, you are making it very clear this involves both the entire head and brain of an individual.

 

4 hours ago, zerox said:

I find this to be quite sick.

I hope they find something else that is more useful. I would never want that anything like this would be done on myself.

Why is it sick? What could they do that is more useful that would help people with severe body injuries or malformations?

 

1 hour ago, Darth Jeric said:

Yes, but likely not in the way some expect. The degree of difficulty in just reattaching some complex nerves (like the trigeminal as one example) limits how much of an impact that this would have in medical science. Multi nerve reattachments are so mind boggling in their complexity that even successful face transplants have not led to a flood of similar surgeries. When a surgery is absurdly difficult, it doesn't lend itself to many who would attempt it even if they are capable. 

That said, it will open the door to methods that may treat other conditions without going the Futurama route. Many spinal cord injuries are limited in treatment avenues. What we would learn from this procedure may open more advanced application of cervical and thoracic nerve damage repairs. 

That makes this operation far more crucial than just the morbid interest it generates. 

I also find no ethical or moral issues here or in future operations, provided they follow informed consent rules, donor allotment rules, etc. The only question that some may raise is that one donor body can save multiple lives and not just one. 

Yes, this is true... even if this surgery is a total success, I don't expect we will see this type of thing becoming a common sort of operation. However, it would be the first successful transplant of its type, and open the door to that possibility. As mentioned it would open another door into the future of medical treatment and understanding of the human body and what can be done. It will be a long time before we see anything like the world Futurama promotes, but groundbreaking research and treatments now are certainly making that world or something similar to it a possibility no matter how far off they may be.

As far as Issues go, the only ones I see are the ones I mentioned above. Many people are OK with donating organs when they die, but when the organ is ones entire body it gets a little more difficult. Also, there are many who feel organ donation should be mandatory and not optional, since it involves saving lives and the deceased no longer have a need for those organs. This thread is not about that debate though, but acknowledging that is does exist. Were such a thing made mandatory (doubtful), it would in effect be telling someone they have to surrender the body of their loved one to someone else.

Also, as I said... this is technically two being becoming one... patient A's head being placed upon patient B's body. If successful and the patient is able to walk out of the hospital with no ill effects, how are they recognized? Although it would be easy to label them as patient A since he/she is is the "surviving" person.... there can be identifying marks & fingerprints that a court of law goes by that says otherwise. Also, patient B may have history that some people may find unacceptable to have that body given a new lease on life...  a murderer or rapist for example. The head may be different, but it won't change for some what the body was guilty of. Finally just family in general... someone loses a loved one, and they undergo this procedure.... I can imagine for many it would be very painful to think that your loved one is out and walking about away from you... with the head of someone else. It can be a difficult thing to both physically and emotionally come to terms with.... and for some, may not be possible at all.

 

 

 

[zerox 1,339]

10 minutes ago, GrimGrimoire said:

Why is it sick? What could they do that is more useful that would help people with severe body injuries or malformations?

 

 

 

 

for me it comes down as ethically wrong. transplanting a whole body doesn't seem like an answer. I know that I wouldn't like that something like this would be done on myself.

I feel sorry for the people who have different disabilities but I feel that this isn't the right answer.

Edited May 5, 2017 by zerox

[Jeric 46,889]

1 hour ago, zerox said:

for me it comes down as ethically wrong. transplanting a whole body doesn't seem like an answer. I know that I wouldn't like that something like this would be done on myself.

I feel sorry for the people who have different disabilities but I feel that this isn't the right answer.

How would it be any different than a domino procedure? How about a multi organ directed transplant? Do you find multiple people donating organs to each other ethically wrong? 

[zerox 1,339]

1 minute ago, Jeric said:

How would it be any different than a domino procedure? How about a multi organ directed transplant? Do you find multiple people donating organs to each other ethically wrong? 

nope I don't.

 

I found this interesting

 

In the case of quadriplegics, or individuals with full–body paralysis, scientists would perform less invasive surgical procedures before they attempted to replace the patient’s entire body, he says. “If you’d have the technology to attach spinal columns, you’d have certainly developed the technology to repair somebody’s broken spinal column,” he says, laughing.

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

3 minutes ago, zerox said:

In the case of quadriplegics, or individuals with full–body paralysis, scientists would perform less invasive surgical procedures before they attempted to replace the patient’s entire body, he says. “If you’d have the technology to attach spinal columns, you’d have certainly developed the technology to repair somebody’s broken spinal column,” he says, laughing.

In some cases yes.  As said, the procedure would not be for everyone for every situation. Certainly if you have the ability to attach spinal columns, you have the technology to repair them in many cases. However, what about those with shattered spines, or extremely damaged ones? What about injuries that either cannot be repaired. or would possibly take more extensive treatments, surgeries and procedures than the patient could handle? There are such things to consider as overall time and recovery as well.... and there is no way to get around the possibility of cost either. Just because the technology would exist, does not necessarily make it better. It is about creating options and finding the best possible solution in each given situation. There are lots of things we used to do medically to treat ailments that WOULD still work to this day... we no longer utilize them because we have found methods that are more efficient, practical and reliable.

A lot of people are resistant to anything that truly helps patients recover more fully and quickly, because in the end it is less profitable for them. Although it is said you cannot put a price on human wellness and comfort, you can most certainly put one on suffering and misery. Most of that though is for a totally different debate.