A man who had volunteered to be a guinea pig for the world's first head transplant has canceled the idea after falling in love.
Valery Spiridonov
A Russian man who volunteered to be a guinea pig for the world’s first head transplant has instead found himself head-over-heels in love with his glamorous new wife and their “miracle” baby son, Sun UK has reported.
The report revealed that the severely handicapped Valery Spiridonov, 33, was ready to have his neck severed by Professor Sergio Canavero – dubbed ‘Dr Frankenstein’ – and attached to a new, healthy body in experimental surgery.
In the event, the controversial Italian medic is now working in China where he has received funding for his research while the Russian, who became world famous for his readiness to be decapitated for science, has found his own extraordinary new life.
Valery, a computer expert, had worked for two years with Dr Canavero but now accepts that the doctor’s first attempts at the futuristic surgery will now be on Chinese volunteers rather than him.
But he also revealed his suspicion that something has gone “wrong” with head transplantation plans that mainstream medicine has decried as currently scientifically impossible.
The Russian, meanwhile, has moved to America to the University of Florida where he is studying the computer analysis of emotions.
In a recent posting he revealed that with him in America are his bride Anastasia Panfilova – in her early 30s – and the couple’s recently-born son.
A picture shows the proud father – who suffers from Werdnig-Hoffman disease, a form of spinal muscular atrophy often leading to low life expectancy – holding his baby.
His baby – the boy’s name has not been revealed – was born six weeks ago and is healthy which Valery sees as a “miracle” since the condition can be inherited.
Valery is plainly happy with the way his life turned out — but he has challenged Dr Canavero to come clean on his work in China amid a suspicion that the Italian encountered problems with his techniques after carrying out a test transplant on two dead bodies.