The Italian
neuroscientist Sergio Canavero is convinced that "In just two years,
will be possible the whole body transplantation, so patients
with quadriplegia, cancer or progressive muscular dystrophy may be able to
replace their ill bodies for another healthy.
The
idea sounds crazy and many of his friends think that it's impossible, but the Italian
says that the last obstacle, the connection between the spinal cord of the
donor with the spinal cord of the receiver, is already overtaken and it's
expected that in June, the doctor present a project for perform this kind of transplantations.
According with
Canavero, the operation is completely practicable with the medical advances that
exist, “it isn't necessary wait for discover something else” said. In fact, the
experiments for the whole body transplantation, started the last century: in
1945, there was attempt of transplanted the head of one dog to another (although
the animals could only survive between two and six days). Later, in the 70's, a
British scientific tried to do the same but this time with two monkeys: the
monkey could survive but it couldn't move because the scientific was not able
to connect the spinal cord.
Now,
according with the Italian doctor, this problem doesn’t exist, if an organ
reject another, this could be solved with drugs. In any case, could be a
rejection caused by a psychological reason (like in some face transplants) and
in this sense, Canavero explains that three months before the operation, the
patient must use a kind of virtual machine which will show like a picture of
the patient with the body that will have after the operation. In this way, the
patient wouldn't experience a psychological rejection.
Even so, the
process will be slowly: before the operation the patient will be into a coma
for a month for avoid movements and then, the patient must be subjected to
physical therapy to recovermotion. Further, the operation will last 36
hours and it will be needed between 100 and 150 professionals, and it's also possible
that before the transplantation, the patient have a change of humor and
character. For this last problem, Canavero proposed the cloning cells.
Candidates ready
for this kind of operations is not missing; the doctor says that he has received
a lot of requests although the success is not fully insured.
The project
financing, ten millions euros, it's also expected: a researcher of Turín have
publish a book about the head transplantation and the benefits of it will go to
the first intervention.
So the
only thing left to solve is where will be perform the first operation.
According to Canavero, "the country that makes the first whole body transplantation
will be like the first man to reach the moon, something that all countries
should aspire".
I think that this kind of
"experiments" should be done for prove if it can be done or not. I
don't know, maybe this operation it's possible and thanks to this doctor people
who have to spend his live in a wheelchair or people who have the days of live
count, can survived and have a better life although there is the problem of the
change of humor an character (even so the doctor Canavero says that could also
be solved). Anyway, if you are about to die and the doctors get to choose you
between die or live but with another character, what would you say? It's a
complicated topic.
I think that the main problem is ethical
or moral. If we started to do this kind of operations, we will be doing the
same as Dr.Frankenstein, nothing will be natural, I mean, you will born with
one body and you will die with the body of another person! Or what it's worse,
we could live forever. All seem to be a science fiction film...
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