The man who volunteered to be a human guinea pig by undertaking the world's first head transplant this year has admitted his dream will never happen. Severely handicapped Russian Valery Spiridonov, 31, now accepts his hopes of his head being grafted onto a new healthy body are over. Controversial pioneering neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero - dubbed Dr Frankenstein - has vowed to undertake the first such transplant in China with an as yet unnamed local patient undergoing the operation. Valery Spiridonov, 31, who suffers from a muscle-wasting disease and had volunteered to undergo the world's first head transplant, says the operation will not go ahead As preparation the Turin-based medic was recently part of a team that attached a new head to a rat. But Spiridonov - who worked with Professor Canavero for two years and became the human face of hopes for head transplant surgery - acknowledged he had now lost his hopes a new body free from disabilities.

The terminally ill man who is set to become the world's first head transplant recipient says more details about his extraordinary surgery will be revealed next month. Valery Spiridonov, a computer scientist from Russia, is set to undergo the risky procedure next year. Today, the 31-year-old is wheelchair reliant due to a muscle-wasting disease, announced his neurosurgeon would explain how the plan was progressing in September. Mr Spiridonov says he is ready to put his trust in controversial surgeon Dr Sergio Canavero who claims he can cut off his head and attach it to a healthy body. Neither the exact date or location have been chosen yet, but the world first procedure is aimed to take place in December 2017.