Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has been dubbed “Dr. Frankenstein” ever since stating in 2015 that he would perform the first successful human head transplant by 2017. Victor Frankenstein, from the novel Frankenstein, was a scientist who conducted unorthodox experiments, and was obsessed with creating a humanoid. His creation was hideous in appearance, and repulsed Frankenstein. It ended up bringing the scientist to his downfall. The ambitions and flaws of humanity is one of the main themes in Frankenstein. Frankenstein may be very ambitious and determined to use this to transform society, but his ambition is also his weakness. Like Frankenstein, Canavero is ambitious, and wants to surpass the limits of human knowledge and natural laws, though the outcome may be unfavorable. Regardless, Canavero is not the first to explore the possibility of head transplants.

One of the first scientists to attempt head transplants was Vladimir Demikhov, the organ transplant trailblazer who coined the term transplantology. He performed several transplantations in the 1930s and 1950s, and is best known today for his transplantation of the heads of dogs (resulting in two-headed dogs). During the 1950s and 1960s, various universities in the United States performed heart transplants in dogs. In 1970, Dr. Robert White, inspired by Demikhov, led a group of scientists in transplanting the head of one monkey onto another’s body. The operation was a success, with the animal surviving for a period of time afterwards, and being able to use all five of its senses. White later successfully repeated the operation on a monkey in 2001. This series of attempts has led mankind up to this point; of course, the new challenge will also require innovative methods and processes.

Canavero has said that the first step would be to freeze the head and body in order to prevent brain cells from dying. Then, then neck would be cut, and tubes would be fitted to connect key arteries and veins. The next step is one of the most risky steps: cutting the spinal cord, which will be done with a special knife made of diamonds. Afterwards, the head is moved onto the donor body and a special type of glue fuses the spinal chords together. Finally, muscles, veins, and organs are reattached and the skin is stitched together. Canavero has already carried out a series of tests on various animals, and plans to first test this procedure on brain dead living donors.

This raises a question of ethics and morality. Many individuals, from surgeons to the common or average person, have viewed the aspect of using a living donor and testing on animals negatively, especially because the success rate is currently unknown. Even if the donor is voluntary, do we have an obligation to prevent this? Euthanasia is similarly controversial in that the individual is the one asking to be killed, yet many believe that euthanasia should be prohibited. Thus, even when the science aspect of head transplantation is disregarded, many wonder whether this attempt is really worth the risk. The implications and possibilities that may be created if the operation is successful would definitely be groundbreaking, but as of now, many surgeons who have been interviewed has said that this is merely a plot of science-fiction.

Although this ambition seems like an impossible feat to achieve, it very well may be. In today’s society, mankind has expanded its potential exponentially. Technologies and possibilities that only seemed possible in science-fiction novels and films have been made realities. Cavanero’s ambition and goal reflects the desire for development and progress that seems to be an innate part of human nature.

<Heewon Kim Seoul International School 11th grade>