Surgeon Who Wants To Perform Human Head Transplant 'Performs Successful Op On Monkey'
An Italian surgeon who plans to perform the world’s first head transplant on a human says he has succeeded in performing the procedure on a monkey.
Dr Sergio Canavero claims that he performed the shocking experiment at Harbin Medical University in China, and said: ‘The monkey fully survived the procedure without any neurological injury of whatever kind.’
Describing the procedure, Dr Canavero explained how a team of researchers connected the blood supply between the head and a new body - after the monkey’s head was reportedly chilled to -15c.
However, Canavero’s claims are entirely unverified at present - with no scientific confirmation of the operation’s success.
Canavero claims to have performed the successful transplant
The maverick surgeon already has his first willing participant for a proposed human head transplant, Valery Spiridonov - who is willing to undergo the procedure despite the enormous unknown risks.
Canavero previously said that the ‘final goal’ of his work is to achieve immortality - with interest emerging from older patients looking to graft their heads onto younger bodies.
Valery Spiridinov is set to go under the knife
Speaking last year, he said: ‘There are a few funds working on prolonging life expectancy, and they are well-funded.’