Doctor to Perform Full Body Transplant

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Neuhaus, Aug 29, 2016.

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  1. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I don't care what the articles say, it isn't a "head" transplant.

    At first I thought this guy was just a loon. But as time goes on and his colleagues started doing the same thing to monkeys it's beginning to look a lot less like a guaranteed suicide.

    Two things though...

    1. If this guy finds a way to reattach a completely severed spinal cord and restore full movement I think that's a major leap for modern medicine.

    2. If the guy was a serious academic and had the key to item 1 wouldn't you think he would be rushing to do it as often as he could in less sensational venues and publishing his incredible results?

    It just seems to me that this business he's in is really pass/fail. If the guy wakes up and is waltzing by the following spring then he's a hero. If anything less than that his critics will be wagging fingers and saying "We told you!"

    If he focused on those more modest gains it just seems like he'd be well on track to be getting himself a Nobel prize (especially if he actually pulled it off).

    The thing that bothers me the most is the head of bioethics at NYU calling it all "BS" and referring to this guy as a charlatan and a fraud. His approach seems far less professional and far more personal than I would expect from a person at that level and in that role.
     
  2. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    I was just about to post about this! Damn, this seems insane! I thought it was a spoof story at first since I saw it on another news outlet. Spooky.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 29, 2016
  3. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    On the one hand I can't understand why this guy is trying to do this on a human first. I would think a few rounds with monkeys and rats would be in order to show us the procedure is perfected.

    On the other hand if the subject is willing to roll the dice then maybe it isn't such a terrible thing. But hey, I'm no bioethicist.
     
  4. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Normally I would say "My body, my choice!" I guess this would be, "My bodies, my choice?"

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    The chatter I've heard is that the science community basically thinks this operation will never take place and the surgeon knows it. They are relying on the nations of the world to never approve it so he doesn't have a place and he gets to sit around collecting more speaking engagements with the narrative of "The idea is solid but 'the man' won't let me do it."

    But I think the scientific community might be underestimating the lack of regulation, and subjective application of whatever regulation there is, in some countries. Look at how many U.S. doctors offer cancer treatments in Mexico that are not approved for use in the U.S.

    Surely there is a nation out there that is just a handful of bribes away from allowing anyone to do whatever they want medically.
     
  6. heirophant

    heirophant Well-Known Member

    I think that if medical science was anywhere close to being able to do that, we would see it succeeding with Christopher Reeve-style quadriplegics first.

    I don't have much doubt that a head can be removed from one body and grafted to another. Blood vessels can be connected and anti-rejection drugs applied. But the result will be a total quadriplegic.

    It might be a way of keeping heads and the consciousness they contain alive if the head's original body is failing and no longer able to sustain the head. The new body would be immobile and insensate, but would function like an organic life-support machine.

    It might be worse than death though. I don't think that I would choose it.
     
  7. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Not saying I agree with this guy's approach but we also might consider that the volunteer for this procedure is already a quadriplegic. So I can see why he might be willing to roll the dice.

    Just to play devil's advocate for a moment I wonder if the surgeon's premise is something along the lines of him being confident he can reattach a spinal cord if it is a clean cut. With an accident victim that might not be the case. So perhaps he's trying to set up ideal conditions?

    He at least claims he's reattached spines in some mice. Of course there are no clinical trials, no peer reviewed publications etc.

    Maybe he is just seeking attention. Or maybe he's crazy.
     
  8. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    I don't know. This poor patient must be desperate to even consider such a thing. This whole thing gives me the creeps. I hope that they can't go through with it. Just seems like disaster waiting to happen.
     
  9. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    The surgery would be unethical if there isn't full disclosure on how the procedure is unlikely to succeed and hasn't been fully tested on other primates. But, what would be most unethical is performing the procedure without doing a psychological evaluation of the patient. I watched a documentary where an American living in the UK traveled to Switzerland for medically-assisted suicide. He had to be evaluated by a social worker beforehand.
     
  10. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I agree there should be some sort of mental health component here.

    If I were suffering from a terrible neurological disease like this I might very well consider medically assisted suicide. Go out on my terms.

    A surgery like this has the potential to actually make you worse off. Imagine ending up paralyzed, blind, deaf, unable to communicate and just completely locked inside. Maybe your brain would run wild and create some awesome fantasy world for lack of any external stimuli. But I'm willing to entertain the possibility that it might also just be terrifying and horrific with no sense of time or hope, either.

    So this guy asks "what do I have to lose?" And I wonder if he really considered an outcome like that. Life sucks for him now but he can at least watch a movie to escape reality for a few hours. He at least has his mind, his career etc. he could lose all of that PLUS not even have the benefit of having his suffering end. That's the part that gives me the creeps.
     
  11. RAM PhD

    RAM PhD Member

    Relating this "Head Transplant" to Distance Learning, here is a hypothetical:

    1. The donor of the "head" has a fully accredited PhD.

    2. The recipient of the "head" (i.e., the headless body) dropped out of High School in the 10th Grade.

    3. The transplant is successful, the "new entity" recovers and enters the work force.

    Will he have the IQ of the 10th Grade dropout, or will he function on the level of a PhD?
     
  12. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    If you severed the head of a PhD and kept it preserved in a jar (a la Futurama) you'd have intact the part of the body responsible for the PhD.

    Though I have seen a few articles speculating that the mismatch of body and head could cause insanity.
     

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