Valery Spiridonov, a 30 year old computer scientist, who suffers from an awful muscle wasting disease called Werdnig-Hoffman (aka spinal muscular atrophy) which threatens to cut his life short at a very young age, has volunteered to undergo the extremely debatable head transplant surgery in the world. The surgery will be performed by Dr Sergio Canavero, an Italian physician.
Spiridonov, who already has no control over his legs, says, “I can hardly control my body now. I need help every day, every minute. I am now 30 years old, although people rarely live to more than 20 with this disease.”
“I am afraid, but what people don’t really understand is I don’t really have many choices. If I don’t try this out my fate will be very sad. With every year my situation is getting worse. My decision is final and I do not plan to change my mind,” said the Russian patient.
The physician whose offer to carry out the first ever human head transplant has made him a highly controversial figure says he has received many more offers from people willing to undergo the world’s first human head transplant—including transsexuals seeking another body. But since he wanted to carry it out on someone suffering from muscle atrophy, he chose Spiridonov.
Canavero’s project was first revealed in June 2013 at a medical conference in Annapolis, MD. He plans to shed more light on this never-heard-of-before surgery, dubbed HEAVEN-GEMINI soon. All he has shared with the media now is that the operation will require 150 doctors and nurses, many of whom have asked to join the team.
“I say two years is the time needed for the team to reach perfect synchronization,” says Canavero. After a 36-hour operation, the patient would lie in coma for about a month while doctors use electrical stimulation in an effort to connect spinal-cord nerves to the new head. But many experts dismiss his plan as laughable or dangerous; a monkey died after undergoing a head transplant in 1970.
Spridinov however is determined to go ahead and says he has family support for the procedure, inspite of them appreciating the high degree of risk involved.
