Whether or not you believe neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero and his claims about head transplants, journalism has a democratic duty to hold public figures up to the light

Scrutinising the evidence Monty Rakusen/Plainpicture

SOME will criticise our decision to publish a profile of self-styled maverick neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero, the poster boy for head transplant surgery (see “Inside the mind of the man who wants to transplant human heads“).

He is a man who craves the oxygen of publicity, and by giving it to him we are arguably complicit in the media carnival that has sprung up around him.

Admittedly, Canavero is prone to claims about which there are serious scientific doubts. Aside from his head transplant (actually body transplant) work, he also claims that brain transplants will be possible within three years. Such claims are as sensationalist as they are scientifically and ethically dubious. But ignoring them will not make them, or Canavero, go away.


You might argue that he will never get the go-ahead for such experiments anyway – any ethics committee would refuse him permission – so why bother? But do not be so sure. Many of his collaborators work in China, where ethical standards can be lower than in the West.

You might also argue that he is merely a publicity seeker who has no real intention or means to make his claims a reality. Again, do not be so sure.

The view among scientists is that a human head transplant is not yet possible. But that does not mean it will always be impossible. If done in haste, with catastrophic or unconscionable results, that could bring the entire enterprise into disrepute and set any actual benefits back years if not decades.

For that reason, Canavero and his collaborators need to be held up to scrutiny. Science journalism is not just about reporting and explaining exciting and important new discoveries. It is also about exercising the democratic duty of journalism, which is to speak truth to power, ask difficult questions, expose wrongdoing and hold public figures up to the light.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Heads out of the sand”