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Surgeon plans world first ‘full body’ transplant

A surgeon plans to attempt to transplant a human head onto a new body within two years.

Italian doctor Sergio Canavero wants to use the surgery to extend the lives of those whose bodies have broken down or become riddled with cancer.

His plan will be announced at an annual conference in the US, with the first attempt ready by as early as 2017, Mr Canavero said.

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“I think we are now at a point when the technical aspects are all feasible,” he told media.

The first successful head transplant was carried out in 1970 on a monkey, which survived for nine days.

The technique chosen by Mr Canavero would involve cooling the recipient’s head and the donor body, cutting the tissue around the necks, and linking the major blood vessels using tiny tubes. Both spinal cords would then be cut and fused together using a chemical that encourages the fat in cell membranes to mesh.

The risk of the body’s immune system rejecting the new head would be low, medical expert William Mathews said.

“The system we have for preventing immune rejection and the principles behind it are well established,” Mr Mathews said.

Chinese surgeon Xiao-Ping Ren recently proved that it was possible to perform a basic head transplant in a mouse. Mr Ren will attempt to replicate Canavero’s protocol in the next few months in mice, and monkeys.

Sergio Canavero has admitted that ethical concerns may prevent him from attempting the surgery in Western countries.

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