The world’s first full head transplant could take place as soon as 2017 if the controversial plans by Italian neuroscientist Dr. Sergio Canavero come to pass. Wheelchair-bound Valery Spiridonov, who has the muscle-wasting Werdnig Hoffman disease, has volunteered to have his head transplanted onto a healthy body in a daylong operation.
The proposed surgery is highly controversial and its feasibility has been questioned by experts. But Dr. Canavero’s plans also raise complex philosophical and ethical issues. A natural question is whether a living person with Spiridonov’s head and someone else’s body would be the same person as Spiridonov. In interviews, Spiridonov has made it clear that he sees the proposed procedure as a way for him to live on with a new and healthy body.
