Dr. Ren Xiaoping is an orthopedic surgeon at Harbin Medical University in China who assisted in the first hand transplant surgery in America back in 1999. 17 years later, Dr. Ren is still continuing his work in body part replacement.
He has, however, now set his sights on much larger body parts. Dr. Ren's next goal is to complete a full body replacement.
The medical community across the world is refusing to stand behind Dr. Ren. Dr. James L. Bernat, a neurology and medicine professor at the Geisel School of Medicine of Dartmouth College, calls the proposed operation “at best premature and at worst reckless.”
China’s former deputy minister of health, Dr. Huang Jiefu, takes a similar stance and asserts himself both scientifically and morally. After cutting the spinal cord and neurons, they “cannot be reconnected.” He adds, “Ethically, it’s impossible… How can you put one person’s head on another’s body?” Dr. Huang is also among those in the Chinese medical community who believe Dr. Ren is further tarnishing their reputation as doctors who have little ethics in regard to medicine, who are willing to propose and try anything.
Dr. Ren, however, is not deterred. He continues to conduct research and build a medical team who will support his endeavor, and insists that the operation will take place when everything is ready.
The doctor has already done full body replacements on mice in his laboratory – but they only lived for a day after the procedure was complete. Even so, Dr. Ren’s proposed human procedure already has several patient volunteers.
Mr. Wang Huanming is a 62-year-old man who became paralyzed from the neck down after he got injured while wrestling with a friend. He has already volunteered himself for Dr. Ren’s procedure. His daughter and mother have spent most of their savings on Mr. Wang’s medical bills and know that if the operation fails, Mr. Wang will die. But this family’s desperation to save Mr. Wang still allows them to find hope in Dr. Ren’s unprecedented full body replacement.
