Serge Voronoff

(c. 1866 - 1951)

After studying with the surgeon Alexis Carrel, Serge Voronoff began experimenting with transplanting organs, bone, and tissue between animal species; at the Collège de France, he attempted to implant testicular tissue from young sheep and horses into older ones to build up their strength. He then began transplanting glands and organs from chimpanzees into humans, claiming the sexual organs provided “a vital fluid that restores the energy of all the cells and spreads happiness.” In 1923 a newspaper ran the headline voronoff positive he can convert grandmothers to debutantes.