Despite scientists and surgeons voicing some serious doubts that such a massive undertaking would be successful, Canavero is adamant that the technology now exists – by employing his novel GEMINI protocol, he argues, the likelihood of success is around 90%.
But just how well do his claims stand to scientific scrutiny? Below are just three of the many important issues that haven’t been convincingly addressed.
First of all, let’s look at how the surgery would be performed. The head of the patient and spinal cord of the donor body would be cooled below 20°C. This would give the surgical teams less than an hour to simultaneously remove both heads at the neck, transfer the head of the patient to the donor body, and reconnect the spine and blood vessels before nervous system cells begin to decay. The spines would be held together and stabilised, and a specialised compound known as polyethylene glycol...
