The grapes are green :(
Spiridonov: there are more interesting things in my life than a body transplant
Valery Spiridonov, the first candidate for a body transplant, told RIA Novosti how he feels about the fact that the first operation will be performed in China to another patient, and what he thinks about the initiatives of Dr. Sergio Canavero to raise money for such a transplant in Of Russia.
At the end of February 2015, Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero announced the launch of the ambitious HEAVEN/AHBR project. He planned to transplant the volunteer's head onto a donor body by connecting the spinal cord to the brain using a special procedure that Canavero calls the "GEMINI protocol".
Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov, who was confined to a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy, responded to the surgeon's call. The Russian suffers from Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome, a severe genetic disease that gradually deprives a person of the ability to move.
The opinions of neurosurgeons regarding the operation were divided: some do not rule out such a possibility in principle, but are not sure of the success of the operation, others consider the head transplant an adventure that will inevitably end in failure.
Despite the skepticism of the scientific community, Canavero and his like-minded Chinese neurosurgeon Ren Xiaoting from Harbin University are preparing to conduct the first body transplant operation later this year in China, whose government has issued permission and funds for such an experiment.
– Valery, how do you feel about the fact that the first body transplant operation will not be carried out with your participation?
– I am absolutely calm about what is happening. I don't consider working with Canavero to be the main project of my life. Although, of course, he changed a lot and gave a lot of new opportunities, the effective use of which became a separate pleasure for me. For example, I managed to create the association "Striving for Life", which allows professionals and people who are just interested to popularize and develop the latest and proven achievements of science in general and medicine in particular.
I am also a member of the team creating the world's first mass consumer robot assistant capable of taking on some of the heavy lifting when moving cargo and luggage. And besides, I am developing a "smart" wheelchair. Thus, I have many more interesting and pleasant things to do in my life right now than preparing for a controversial body transplant operation. So it's all for the best! Besides, I have a girlfriend, and we travel a lot together.
– What is the reason that the operation will be carried out in China?
– The fact is that Dr. Canavero always had several options at hand for performing the operation with the expectation that at least one of them would work. It so happened that a Chinese card played. The Chinese government turned out to be the most flexible and capable of making far–sighted bold decisions, giving acceleration, among other things, to the most creative branch of science - medicine.
Financing of research on spinal cord restoration using the Canavero method in China is carried out from the budget, the work is carried out in Harbin. Logically, they were better prepared than anyone.
I can say that, for my part, I received the most serious professional support from leading Russian scientists and doctors. Naturally, it is not these people who should provide the organization and financing of experiments, it should be the responsibility of the state and the government.
– Do you support Canavero's calls to save your life and consider alternative, less extreme methods of fighting the disease?
– I believe that today I already need to take my health into my own hands. Fortunately, with my disease, there is a well-tested operation, carried out quite often in such cases, to implant a steel rod to maintain the spine in a straight, and not bent like mine, state.
This operation is carried out in several places in Russia and serves to significantly improve the health of patients with my diagnosis. After it, it becomes easier to breathe, move in transport and just sit. Of course, it will not restore muscle strength and will not allow walking, but the quality of life will change radically in a positive way.
It doesn't cost as much fantastic money as Operation Canavero. Much more achievable – 2.4 million rubles. Despite all my activities and fruitful work, it is difficult for me personally to accumulate this amount alone. Anyone who considers my work worthy of support can help me here on the Generosity platform.
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23.06.2017