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A maverick surgeon who plans to transplant a human head onto another body has successfully performed the operation on a monkey, he claims.

Sergio Canavero made the shocking claim after a series of experiments on animals and human corpses, according to New Scientist.

Canavero said, ‘The monkey fully survived the procedure without any neurological injury of whatever kind.’

Canavero claims that researchers led by Xiaoping Ren at Harbin Medical University connected up the blood supply between the head and the new body.


They did not attempt to connect the spinal cord, and the monkey died 22 hours later – but Canavero says that the experiment shows that if a monkey’s head is cooled to -15 °C it can survive the operation without brain injury.



New Scientist points out that no one has as yet verified Canavero’s claims.

MORE: World’s first head transplant patient could face fate ‘worse than death’ claim

Valery Spiridonov has volunteered to become the first person to undergo a head transplant (Pic: YouTube)

Canavero already has a volunteer patient, a severely ill Russian man, Valery Spiridonov, who is willing to attempt the procedure despite the enormous and unknown risks.

Canavero has previously admitted, ‘The final goal is immortality.’

He says that there has aready been interest from ultra-rich patients seeking to extend their lives by grafting ageing heads onto fresh, young bodies.

Dr Canavero said last year, ‘You bet – there are a few funds working on prolonging life expectancy, and they are well-funded.’