topic Re: First human head transplant in Community Chat

First human head transplant

stuyvesant — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:19:40 GMT

I'm not providing any links, but this has been in the news. If you search my thread title, you can read about the story.

Basically, a very ill man, with no hopeful prognosis, is willing to spend a lot of millions to have his head grafted onto a viable body.

The scientists who are doing this, think it can be done. But I think most of us know, the most hopeful outcome from this operation is that the body and brain may be kept oxygenated for a while.

What I want to discuss, is this worthwhile? The guy thinks it's his best shot at a life.

I think this guy is dreaming, about somebody in his situation a 100 years from now, and wants to start the search for knowledge. I think he's picking an esoteric way of serving humanity, and ending his suffering.

Re: First human head transplant

151949 — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:22:51 GMT

I think this was a science fiction movie!

Re: First human head transplant

Cakers3 — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:28:00 GMT

What the heck is a viable body?

This sounds like something out of the X-Files.

Re: First human head transplant

Plaid Pants2 — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:31:11 GMT

I find the thought of a head transplant to be a bit creepy.

But, I guess it would be the one time that a person could say, "I have the body of an athlete", and actually mean it.

But on the flip side, while I am an organ and tissue donor (I have the box checked on my driver's license, and my family knows that that is my preference), I don't know how I would feel if I saw someone else with my (dead) loved ones body.

The way that medicine is progressing, this may be common place in a hundred years, and all progress has to start someplace, but yeah, for now, this "head transplant" thing makes me feel uncomfortable.

Re: First human head transplant

SharkE — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:38:56 GMT

Who wants to live forever anyway ?

Re: First human head transplant

Bri36 — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:41:28 GMT

Has he found doctors to actually do this?

Re: First human head transplant

Cakers3 — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:42:39 GMT

Actually now I'm reminded of the Golden Girls episode where they dreamed about their heads being frozen waiting to be transplanted. LOL

Re: First human head transplant

SeaMaiden — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:43:59 GMT

It may sound like science fiction... but much science fiction becomes the future eventually.

I see this as a very plausible thing with all the transplants now being preformed. I remember when the first face transplant happened years ago at first it was also looked at as sci fi...... and now many many have been done and are helping lives be better.

Why not a head transplant? Yes it will take many years to perfect the procedure... and probably many lives. But down the road it may be the way to give say those with bodies that do not move or are racked with cancer a chance to live on in a body that works.

Re: First human head transplant

candys mine — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:45:07 GMT

Interesting. Someone was bound to do it sometime. From a purely medical view the proceedure of re- attatching all those nerves from the spine / brain stem to the other spine and have any maintainable nerve communication would be an achievement. Everyone needs to be realistic and go into this with all the cards on the table. Prayers of peace to both people involved.

Re: First human head transplant

nomless — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:48:56 GMT

A story I read said a team of doctors in China is gearing up to give this a try within a year. Other doctors are skeptical, pointing out the difficulty of getting the spinal cord to work. They point out that if the team feels they have a solution to the spinal cord issue, why not devote their time to helping those who are paralyzed due to spinal cord injury?

Re: First human head transplant

Vivian — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:55:20 GMT

I'm reminded of Young Frankenstein, where Marty Feldman, as Igor (he pronounced it Eye-gor) went to the lab to steal a brain. However, after dropping the brain of a great scientist, Igor had to improvise. He confessed to Dr Frankenstein (pronounced Fronken-steen) that he had stolen the brain of "Abby-someone." After being pressed about who this Abby was, Igor replied, "Abby-normal." This head transplant idea is too Abby-normal to me.

Re: First human head transplant

qualitygal — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:59:55 GMT

That's just sick!

Re: First human head transplant

Quse — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 14:19:50 GMT

@stuyvesant wrote:
I'm not providing any links, but this has been in the news. If you search my thread title, you can read about the story.

Basically, a very ill man, with no hopeful prognosis, is willing to spend a lot of millions to have his head grafted onto a viable body.

The scientists who are doing this, think it can be done. But I think most of us know, the most hopeful outcome from this operation is that the body and brain may be kept oxygenated for a while.

What I want to discuss, is this worthwhile? The guy thinks it's his best shot at a life.

I think this guy is dreaming, about somebody in his situation a 100 years from now, and wants to start the search for knowledge. I think he's picking an esoteric way of serving humanity, and ending his suffering.

I'm guessing it's the guy in Russia...I read about that about a year ago. I hope they progressed from the monkey trials, bcz last I read, the monkey that they experimented on had to be put down as it went insane from the pain 😳

Re: First human head transplant

Cakers3 — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 14:27:58 GMT

We have so many other issues to tackle-be it cures for the multitude of illnesses out there and/or for spinal cord issues.

The focus should be on those; I'm sure all those out there, including my loved ones, would prefer to see research on those issues instead of this insane and (can't post the name of that horrid doctor during WWII) type horror.

Nobody leaves this world alive. We do the best to find the utmost in care for loved ones but it simply doesn't work out that way all the time.

I wish it did.

Re: First human head transplant

Quse — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 14:42:33 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
It may sound like science fiction... but much science fiction becomes the future eventually.

I see this as a very plausible thing with all the transplants now being preformed. I remember when the first face transplant happened years ago at first it was also looked at as sci fi...... and now many many have been done and are helping lives be better.

The future is farther along than I think most people realize. Some of the stuff you see in sci-fi movies are actual technologies now, that have been around for years. When "Minority Report" came out, people commented on the cool way Tom Cruise was moving the files through the air...at the time, that tech existed and is now found partially on your iPads, etc. with the "swiping" and "zoom in and out w/ your fingers"..also, they can project files into the air and have 3d images "jump" out of your phone and drive around in front of you. That's been around for at least 5 years and is kind of "old news" now.

I was watching the HBO series "Vice" last night for the episode called "Unnatural Selection" and they were talking about a dna sequencing process that a scientist at UC Berkeley co-discovered that goes into DNA, cuts out bad code, and inserts whatever other code to "fix" it. This is great in terms of diseases, etc, but they also discussed how people are going to fertility doctors to "design" their baby (eye color, gender, height, etc) Also, since no one has fully cracked the dna codes, there is a race by countries to have to most data. China currently has the largest dna data bank in the world and they are puching their scientists hard to crack the codes. They have 450,000 mice in containers that have been genetically modified to study 😳

The creepier thing, to me, is called "The Singularity". There are people who are REALLY into this (Ray Kurzweil of Google and Elon Musk of Tesla) and are trying to "eradicate death" by replacing failing parts of your body with machines. Eventually, you get to the point that all parts have been replaced, download your brain into a computer and live forever. This sounds like fantasyland...until you look at the science and how far it's actually come...then it's just downright creepy

Re: First human head transplant

candys mine — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 16:07:38 GMT

@QuseA DNA database? you mean like Ancester and the like? And what about that brain quiz website they were touting a few years ago. Where they keeping track of results from geographic locations even if not actual persons. The information is out there. The replacement of original parts for machines is an idea older than Sci Fi. and belped build the genra itself. If I got downlowded I'd be afraid I'd be hacked!

Re: First human head transplant

Quse — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 16:15:31 GMT

@candys mine wrote:
@QuseA DNA database? you mean like Ancester and the like? And what about that brain quiz website they were touting a few years ago. Where they keeping track of results from geographic locations even if not actual persons. The information is out there. The replacement of original parts for machines is an idea older than Sci Fi. and belped build the genra itself. If I got downlowded I'd be afraid I'd be hacked!

@candys mineNo, not like Ancestry, a much deeper, more involved database of human genomes and DNA sequencing (actually mice genomes, but mice are the most similar to humans, DNA wise, to humans than other species.
I'm guessing, given human nature, that it will start "good: (curing diseases) then move more into "designing" the human species. Basically, the country with the most data "wins"...so there is a race to crack the code....bcz the one with most data has the most power in determining what to do with the science.
Like I said...creepy

Re: First human head transplant

Katcat1 — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 16:18:43 GMT

I don't think so. A sci-fi movie perhaps?????

Re: First human head transplant

RainCityWoman — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 23:01:50 GMT

I'd have more faith in a successful human cloning than I would of a head transplant. I don't even believe it's feasible. First of all, the spinal cord would have to be severed. Not to mantion all the other tissue that would be necessary to guarantee voluntary and involuntary movements and dispositions could take place. As far as I know, no one has ever successfully reconnected a spinal cord. This is just silly, and if it is really being attempted, it borders on the experiments of Josef Mengele.

Re: First human head transplant

alicedee — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 16:40:09 GMT

Wow...could really change the meaning of "donating your body to science"... I can't imagne anyone is going to want this old body.....so I think my family is safe from seeing me sashaying around for an additional 20 years after my demise!