On extremely rare occasions, I cover developments from the medical world that are unrelated to hair. Initially, I planned to ignore yesterday’s news about the world’s first spinal cord transplant having been performed in Russia. But then I read that the lead surgeon involved is the renowned Dr. Xiaoping Ren from China, so I had to write this post.
Long-time readers might remember when I covered Dr. Ren and Dr. Sergio Conavaro several times between 2015 and 2017. At the time, they attained global infamy due to their plans to perform the world first head transplant. Or more accurately, a full body transplant onto an existing head. They even got over 100 volunteers who wanted to get the procedure, and were set to perform it on Russian Valery Spiridonov. But, perhaps thankfully, this never materialized.
Side Note:
I am very curious to know the current situation of the world’s first ever skull and scalp transplant recipient James Boysen. The Texan underwent the procedure in 2015 and seemed very satisfied with the outcome a year later. Including bonus brand new scalp hair. I contacted him on Linkedin a while back, but received no response.
The World’s First Spinal Cord Transplant Performed in Russia
The world’s first spinal cord transplant was performed last week in Russia, and even the mayor of Moscow announced this on his Max channel. The pioneering 12-hour surgery was performed at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Care. The patient, who was facing complete immobility, now has a chance to recover. However, some scientists have voiced skepticism.
Per “New Scientist“, the procedure:
“Involved removing a damaged segment of a person’s spinal cord, three years after the injury, and replacing it with a section from a brain-dead donor.”
According to Dr. Ren (who currently conducts his surgeries at China’s Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine):
“Surgeons removed damaged tissue and used microsurgery and polyethylene glycol (PEG), a substance capable of helping cell membranes fuse, to join the donor segment to the recipient’s spinal cord. We have informed the patient of every potential risk and surgical outcome, and the patient’s current condition is good.”
Interestingly, in February 2026, Dr. Ren and another team of Russian surgeons performed Russia’s first bilateral hand allotransplant surgery. That complex operation lasted for 13 hours and involved precise reconnection of blood vessels, bones, nerves and tendons.
Wouldn’t it be great if Chinese and Russian scientists collaborated on finding a hair loss cure? While China has in recent years finally started to make its mark in treating hair loss, Russia still seems largely absent. See my global list of major hair loss research centers and companies.
Below is a YouTube short on the world’s first spinal cord transplant procedure that was done in Russia in October 2026.
