--- title: Full Body Transplants Are Planned in China description: A doctor in China is in the early stages of full-body transplantation, and scientists are concerned about viability and ethics. canonical: https://time.com/4366454/china-body-transplants/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-13T16:45:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:34:00.715Z article:section: Health og:title: China Wants To Do Whole-Body Transplants og:description: A doctor in China is in the early stages of full-body transplantation, and scientists are concerned about viability and ethics. og:url: https://time.com/4366454/china-body-transplants/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: China Wants To Do Whole-Body Transplants twitter:description: A doctor in China is in the early stages of full-body transplantation, and scientists are concerned about viability and ethics. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # China Wants To Do Whole-Body Transplants by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jun 13, 2016 4:45 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jun 13, 2016 4:45 PM UTC Scientists in China want to conduct full-body transplants, which would replace every part of the human body, to help people who are paralyzed. [The New York _Times_ reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/world/asia/china-body-transplant.html?%5Fr=0) that Dr. Xiaoping Ren, an orthopedic surgeon at Harbin Medical University in China who was involved in the first hand transplant in the U.S. in 1999, says he is building a team for the procedure and has so far tested the possibility in mice and cadavers. The mice only lived for a day after the transplant. The science behind the procedure is still unclear, and many experts argue that it’s not possible to sever and reconnect a spinal cord. Others condemn the work on ethical grounds, calling it “reckless”. If the surgery failed, the recipient would die. According to the _Times_ article, doctors say Ren’s idea for an operation is impossible: --- > “” --- The intended operation is also the latest in a series of scientific efforts by China that push ethical boundaries. In April 2015, it was [announced](http://time.com/3832908/crispr-embryos/) that Chinese scientists used a genetic editing technology called CRISPR to modify human embryos, to the disbelief of researchers worldwide who believed the science was too nascent at the time. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/world/asia/china-body-transplant.html?%5Fr=0)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4366454/china-body-transplants/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4366454/china-body-transplants/"},"headline":"China Wants To Do Whole-Body Transplants","datePublished":"2016-06-13T16:45:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:34:00.715Z","description":"A doctor in China is in the early stages of planning a human head transplant","url":"https://time.com/4366454/china-body-transplants/","keywords":["Research","China"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4366454/china-body-transplants/","name":"China Wants To Do Whole-Body Transplants"}}]}] ```