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In response to the idea of identity relocation, it is not an entirely new idea in the scientific and medical community. In the 1960’s, Dr. Robert White conducted an experiment in which he transplanted an additional brain into a dog in Cleveland, Ohio.   Dr. White conducted a similarly successful experiment in the 1970’s.  This time, Dr. White used a monkey, transplanting an entire head from one monkey to the body of another.  The findings of Dr. White’s experiment Perhaps the most important finding of these experiments was that the brain is an “immunologically sound” organ – in other words, it can be successfully transplanted without the fear of a body rejecting it, which is quite different from other internal organs like liver, kidneys, or heart.

Dr. White, who has yet retired from his career as a brain surgeon, confirms that the identity of an individual would be transferred to a new body along with the brain. “I believe the brain tissue is the physical repository for the human soul,” he said in an interview in December 1999. “I don’t think the soul is in your arm, in your heart, or in your kidneys.”

The lack of research in the field of brain transplantation is the cause of numerous unnecessary deaths, Dr. White adds. “People are dying today who, if they had body transplants… would remain alive.”

A surgical protocol for Identity Relocation in humans would require very little alteration from that used in monkeys, although it would need to be scaled up because of the difference in body size between the two species. In fact, the procedure would be easier to perform in humans than in monkeys, because the blood vessels and other tissues of a human are larger than those of a monkey, and surgeons have much more experience operating on the human anatomy.

How is it to be determined that the individual’s identity is actually transferred along with the brain? One way to find out is, during the animal trials, to transplant the brain of a domesticated or specially trained animal into the body of the one with no such training and, upon post-surgical recovery, to observe the animal’s reaction to its master or its ability to perform tricks it learned while in the former body.

What gives us the ability to desire a control over aging is our brain. The preservation of our brain is all that matters, I can replace my heart, kidneys, or any other organs -- within the limits of technology, but I can't replace the brain or I will no longer be I. That's why in cryonics people have the option to preserve only the head and brain death is the best definition of death in medicine. Our priority should then be set to avoid aging in the brain; avoiding aging in the rest of the body is secondary unless, of course, it is a necessary action for the upkeep of the brain.

An important question is whether aging is caused by factors that don't have their origin in the brain. Perhaps our brain just ages because the other organs in the body can no longer support it.

If we could fine tune the human body on a schedule designed to preserve the body, perhaps our brain’s would never age.  Though it may seem, it is not that difficult.  At some point, we may be able to transplant an entire body.  At the current time, the procedure could be performed though the subject would be paralyzed from the head down.  It has already been attempted by Dr. Robert White.  In a dog and monkey, performed the body transfer.  And note the term, “Body Transplant.”  This term is used instead of brain or head transplant because this is not about size. The brain is the soul and can never be changed; however, the body can; therefore, it is the body that is transplanted. The process would still be quite difficult and of course, expensive.  Even if the procedure entailed replacing the most vital systems with the new techniques of artificially generating organs, it would still be difficult and even dangerous.  

After all, surgery is always a risk and we would need to use clones of ourselves in order to avoid anything complications in incompatibility.  With incompatibility, there could be irreversible damage to the brain. The process would be extensive and expensive, even with new technologies. Using animals to test procedures is a valuable process.  If we learn from it then so be it; however, testing the process in humans is the only real way to know.  If this procedure could be performed, sparing damage to the brain, we would still age, slower, but we would still age.