The world's first human head transplant has been carried out on a corpse in China, according to Italian professor Sergio Canavero.
During an 18-hour operation, experts demonstrated that it is possible to successfully reconnect the spine, nerves and blood vessels of a severed head.
A similar operation on a live human will take place 'imminently', the controversial professor claims.
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The world's first human head transplant has been carried out on a corpse in China , according to Italian professor Sergio Canavero (file photo). During an 18-hour operation, experts successfully reconnected the spine, nerves and blood vessels of a severed head
The procedure was carried out by a team led by Dr Xiaoping Ren, who last year grafted a head onto the body of a monkey. Professor Canavero, director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, made the announcement at a press conference in Vienna this morning.
A full report of the Harbin Medical University team's procedure and a timeframe for the live transplant are expected within the next few days.
Speaking at the press conference, Professor Canavero said: 'For too long nature has dictated her rules to us.
'We're born, we grow, we age and we die. For millions of years humans has evolved and 110 billion humans have died in the process.
'That's genocide on a mass scale.
'We have entered an age where we will take our destiny back in our hands.
'It will change everything. It will change you at every level.
'The first human head transplant, in the human mode, has been realised.
'The surgery lasted 18 hours. The paper will be released in a few days.'
'Everyone said it was impossible, but the surgery was successful.'
Professor Canavero added that the team's next step is to perform a full head swap between brain dead organ donors.
