Althouse: "Why is this called a head transplant and not a body transplant?"

May 3, 2017

"Why is this called a head transplant and not a body transplant?"

"Because they are removing a head from a damaged body and transplanting it onto a 'new,' better body. If they were taking a good body from a damaged head, and transplanting it onto a 'new,' good head, THEN it would be a body transplant."

13 comments:

Jupiter said...: And if you can follow that logic, you probably think we can get rid of the bad parts of Obamacare and keep the parts you like.; 5/3/17, 6:59 AM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Heaven Can Wait.; 5/3/17, 6:59 AM
The Godfather said...: Where does the personality reside? Or the soul?; 5/3/17, 7:05 AM
MadisonMan said...: From the Article:

Because the head transplant will be conducted in China it’s much easier to get a Chinese donor

I'm sure it is.; 5/3/17, 7:24 AM
rhhardin said...: Same with penis transplants.; 5/3/17, 7:28 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @Madison Man

I know. That's what I was originally going to blog about.; 5/3/17, 7:30 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Why would they even attempt a head transplant before they'd shown that they could repair spinal cords in quadriplegics?

Is it because the person with the good head has a terrible body that is about to kill him, so a body that will do nothing more than keep the head alive is worth attaching to it? By contrast, the quadriplegic has a body that works to keep the head alive. The body isn't killing this person, so you don't want to risk surgery that would only improve the workability of the body. T; 5/3/17, 7:33 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Why would they even attempt a head transplant before they'd shown that they could repair spinal cords in quadriplegics?

Is it because the person with the good head has a terrible body that is about to kill him, so a body that will do nothing more than keep the head alive is worth attaching to it? By contrast, the quadriplegic has a body that works to keep the head alive. The body isn't killing this person, so you don't want to risk surgery that would only improve the workability of the body.; 5/3/17, 7:34 AM
Bob Ellison said...: There's time left in this life to think about the body parts worth harvesting. My liver and kidneys are probably not great, but my heart's pretty good. My hands are still good.

There must be a market here. What would you pay for my body parts? The price would tend to fall over time, but if you offered me a billion for a kidney, I might take it. My appendix is gone, alas.; 5/3/17, 7:48 AM
Bob Ellison said...: You silly goose, nobody would attempt a head transplant in order to heal the patient. That's not what motivates surgeons. You would do it like the guy who climbs a mountain, because it's there. Until he falls.; 5/3/17, 7:52 AM
Ambrose said...: Has anyone said yet: "Under my plan, if you like your head, you can keep your head."; 5/3/17, 9:02 AM
Luke Lea said...: How are they going to connect the spinal cord?; 5/3/17, 2:02 PM
tim maguire said...: That doesn't quite work. "Transplant" refers to the procedure, the body part refers to what's being exchanged. It makes no sense to say that the hand in "hand transplant" is the good hand only, it refers to what's being replaced. In a head transplant, the body would be the part that remains the same, the head is what's new. I consider this properly to be a body transpant because the head is the part I would consider to remain the same. It's where the essence of the person resides and presumably when they're done we will regard the person as being the same person despite the new body.; 5/4/17, 5:30 AM