Max G. Levy: One surgeon's obsession with head transplants

One surgeon's obsession with head transplants

In 1970, neurosurgeon Robert White and his team carted two monkeys into an operating room to conduct an ambitious experiment. The objective was to connect the head of Monkey A to the body of Monkey B, in what he considered a whole-body transplant, with the ultimate goal of one day performing this surgery on humans. Is such a feat even medically possible? And is it ethical? Max G. Levy investigates. [Directed by Anton Bogaty, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Greg Chudzik, Cem Misirlioglu].

In 1970, surgeons attempted a groundbreaking procedure by attaching one monkey's head to another's body, resulting in a paralyzed but conscious animal. The experiment highlighted not only the extreme medical challenges—like the inability to reconnect the spinal cord—but also sparked heated ethical debates. Advances such as brain-cooling techniques pushed neurosurgery forward, yet the idea of a body transplant forces society to confront difficult questions about identity, consciousness, and the limits of medical intervention.