Head transplants may become possible by 2030, according to Bruce Mathew, a former clinical lead for neurosurgery at Hull University Teaching Hospitals.
In his Sunday Telegraph interview, the medic explained that during his work with writer Michael J. Lee on a science fiction novel, they touched on this idea.
"Initially, our intention was just to brainstorm an idea and it seemed rather silly, but then I realised, it actually isn't," he stated. "If you transplant the brain and spinal cord together it's not impossible."
Surgeons use the robot da Vinci to aid a hernia operation
© AP Photo / Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi
Mathew also noted that transplants onto robotic bodies would also possible in the future using his method.
At the moment, several scientists are trying to make head transplants a reality, focusing on methods that sever the spinal cord, which the British neurosurgeon, who has performed more than 10,000 operations, called "utterly ridiculous".
