Two surgeons in China developing a method to transplant a human head



TOK TOPICS : Natural Sciences , Ethics , Faith, Imagination

Case Description: Italian scientist Sergio Canavero and Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren are working on a way to to transplant a human head .Their current focus is to help patients with spinal cord injuries and paralysis. The surgeons have already performed the procedure on mice, rats and a dog and found some reasonable success in regaining the motor function in the donor body . The scientific and medical advancements necessary for human head transplantation may be plausible in near future but the major ethical and moral questions remain unanswered. The medical community has strongly criticised the two Surgeons accusing their work of being morally wrong and possibly criminal.


TOK LINK: The medical community thinks the surgery is both unethical and dangerous. It could cause horrific problems for the people who undergo it and it could endanger society. Some doctors worry that this attempt for Head Transplant revolves around striving for immortality and may be juat egotistical pseudoscience. In each case , a full donor body is required for the transplant and how are the surgeons going to get the donor body? The leading medical experts also state that actual success of a head transplant is measured by long term survival of head and body with the head controlling motor function.

Sample KQ:

Do you agree that should we set limits on Scientific advancements ?


What role does Faith and Imagination play in pursuing Scientific advancements?