Italian neurosurgeon appeals to billionaires to fund first human head transplant

[nakedrobot2]

IT'S A FULL BODY TRANSPLANT NOT A HEAD TRANSPLANT :)

[mrinterweb]

I can't help but think of a potentially horrifying black market that preys on the young and healthy, who's clients are old and rich.

[theseatoms]

Just look at the American healthcare system.

[pierotofy]

Relevant movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140379/

[DominikR]

Sadly we already have this in the form of illegal organ trade. (even against the will of victims)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_trade#Illegal_organ_trad...

[larrik]

You still end up a quadriplegic, I believe

[maxerickson]

I think the comparable market for organs would actually be more popular. I'm sure most wealthy villains would take a functional kidney over a body they can't control.

[loaaa]

Dictador will live forever

[anon4]

Oh, it won't be a black market. There will be lobbying and laws will be passed authorising the preservation, transport and sale of war casualties from "rogue states".

[fibo]

I am always surprised despite all the difficulties we have in Italy with our politicians, how many individuals open up with innovation and excelence.

Aside that I hope this can save the Russian computer scientist.

[otto_ortega]

This has been done before in dogs, and it is pretty creepy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Demikhov. It was the base for the plot of one of the X-files movies.

[tlrobinson]

The thought of a head transplant creeps me out like almost nothing else, probably because of that X-Files movie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X-Files:_I_Want_to_Believe)

[deutronium]

But that's not connecting the nervous system up

[Grishnakh]

What we need is brain transplants. Then when we've perfected that, we need to secretly abduct various politicians and other powerful people, and replace their brains with those of better people who volunteer to take their places. Then, since the brain transplant won't be obvious, we can have a better society without these sociopaths ruining it for us.

[ddorian43]

You have to fix people in general to do that. Brain transplanting in that scenario won't actually work. Hell, many scientist don't want to do politics.

[djfm]

Near the end of the video it is suggested that the head transplanted onto a younger body would rejuvenate and hence it would make sense to cultivate clones of yourself and periodically transplant your head onto them to live eternally. This is both horrifying and hard to believe.

[nivertech]

How come nobody mentioned this classic soviet SciFi novel:

Professor Dowell's Head

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Dowell%27s_Head

[atf104]

This was (for the most part) debunked on several reasonably reputable sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/head-transplant-hoax-2015-4

[Sebguer]

No, it was not debunked. A bunch of news articles re-posted Kotaku UK's 'evidence. Even the article you linked states:

"Kotaku UK published a comprehensive breakdown on this conspiracy theory"

The Doctor firmly denied this- and is without a doubt, a real neurosurgeon.

[sixQuarks]

What makes this cost $17 million?

[hanniabu]

Wouldn't be surprised if a lot of that went to insurance....as in malpractice insurance, even though I'm sure the recipient will be signing various wavers

[manmal]

Wild guess: a huge amount of stemcells required?

[mei0Iesh]

Notice it doesn't say the first "successful" human head transplant.

[kazinator]

Lots of such qualifying details are not uttered, because they are assumed according to certain maxims which govern constructive conversation among rational people.

[pmiller2]

This procedure has been done on monkeys in the 70's. It might not give this man any control over his new body, but at least he won't suffocate to death from spinal muscular atrophy.

[jkot]

That is implied, otherwise first 'head transplant' would be done centuries ago by some dr Frankenstein.