Head Transplant: Chinese surgeon claims no timeline for transplant on live patient

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The world's first human head transplant has been carried out on a cadaver in China. That's according to a controversial Italian doctor and he says he and his team from Harbin medical university, in northeast China, are now ready to perform the procedure on the living. Is that possible? CGTN's GUAN YANG has more from Harbin.

It was the news that shocked the world when Italian doctor Sergio Canavero announced the completion of the world's first human head transplant between two cadavers.

Despite the sheer amount of media requests, Chinese doctor and Canavero's partner Ren Xiaoping has kept himself busy in the laboratory.

His team carried out spinal cord restoration on a mouse, which is a key step for head transplants.

PROF.REN XIAOPING HARBIN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY "A week after the operation, the body functions of the mouse are recovering. We've done the same tests on bigger mice and dogs."

The strong winning point for Dr.Ren is the application of a cell fusion agent called polyethylene glycol. He believes this particular agent is effective in repairing nerves.

During an 18-hour procedure in Harbin last November, Dr.Ren and his team reconnected the spinal cord and blood vessels of the head of one cadaver with those on another.

This operation gave Dr.Ren and his Italian partner the confidence to try it on a living person in the future.

PROF.REN XIAOPING HARBIN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY "A head transplant is an ideal solution for patients who were paralyzed after car accidents, falling and so on. We haven't seen any better alternative in the world of medical science for decades. Our job on hand is to refine the techniques and to make the transition from animals to humans."

Even as the results of the experiment were published in a medical journal last week, Dr.Ren told us there is still a long way to go before the procedure can be performed clinically.

GUAN YANG HARBIN The idea of a head transplant has met with criticism from many people both at home and abroad. Most of them are saying the surgery simply cannot be done medically -- And even if it could, it is still an ethical issue.

PROF.REN XIAOPING HARBIN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY "Every progress we've made in the medical world came with criticisms and doubts. We have seen the same problems with kidney and heart transplants in the past. We appreciate different opinions and criticisms. I think, as a doctor, what really matters is to save people's lives."

Dr.Ren cannot tell when and where a head transplant on living humans will be conducted. But what's certain is that such a surgery – if it happens – will be groundbreaking. GUAN YANG, CGTN.