US plans first face transplant

**Maggy** · 19-09-2005, 18:56

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4259538.stm

Still not sure about this one.The face is such a positive means of identification.Is one's face one's identity and how would it feel to have someone elses face?How might it appear to someone to meet the person who is a recipient of a transplanted face of your loved one?

With organ transplants anonimity is guaranteed because one human liver looks like any human liver.But with faces?

marky · 19-09-2005, 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Still not sure about this one.The face is such a positive means of identification.Is one's face one's identity and how would it feel to have someone elses face?How might it appear to someone to meet the person who is a recipient of a transplanted face of your loved one?

With organ transplants anonimity is guaranteed because one human liver looks like any human liver.But with faces?

But i thought the look of the face was down to the bone structure of the skull,
That is how they do the reconstructions of faces when they find a skull.
Sound great to me for all those people that have been in tragic accidents etc

**Maggy** · 19-09-2005, 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by marky

But i thought the look of the face was down to the bone structure of the skull,
That is how they do the reconstructions of faces when they find a skull.
Sound great to me for all those people that have been in tragic accidents etc

Agreed but there may well be instances where a face could be recognised surely?It's a very new technique after all and untested on humans thus far.

marky · 19-09-2005, 19:10

I'll have to think about that because ive seen the movie face of

Kliro · 19-09-2005, 19:13

I don't think people are going to go around selling their faces to other people tbh, most likely lab grown cells.

We cant not test it because its never been tested before though, wouldnt make sense.

EDIT: sorry didn't read the article, I see what you mean, might be a bit disturbing to see a dead relatives face on someone elses body

Hom3r · 19-09-2005, 20:02

A few years ago somebody had a voice box transplant (due to throat cancer).

when they were allowed to speak, they sounded like the person who donated the voice box.

Jules · 19-09-2005, 21:44

I really do not know what to make of this at all, I think it is a time will tell sort of situation

Matth · 19-09-2005, 22:15

I thought they could do some amazing things with skin and tissue grafts, without the requirement to be on anti-rejection drugs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1636755.stm - There was programme about this a while back, including the bizarre procedure where a graft was "walked" into position, allow it to gain a supporting blood supply from it's new position before seperating it from the original one.

**Maggy** · 21-09-2005, 18:49

An update.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4263508.stm