A hospital in Spain has achieved a major medical breakthrough by performing the world’s first face transplant using tissue from a donor who had received medical assistance in dying—a procedure that has been legal in Spain since 2021.
The operation, considered a historic milestone in medicine, was carried out at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona on a patient who had suffered severe facial tissue damage caused by an infection. The condition had compromised essential functions, including breathing, eating, and speaking.
The transplant enabled partial reconstruction of the patient’s face and marked the beginning of functional recovery, Euronews.com reports.
The surgical team was led by Dr. Joan Pere Barret, Head of Plastic and Burn Surgery at Vall d’Hebron, and involved nearly 100 medical professionals, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and specialists in microsurgery, immunology, and mental health.
According to Dr. Barret, this type of surgical intervention requires extensive preparation and lifelong follow-up care, as it involves the transplantation of skin, muscles, nerves, and bone structures, along with continuous immunosuppressive medication to prevent tissue rejection.
The hospital emphasized that the procedure strictly followed rigorous ethical and legal protocols and acknowledged the generosity of the donor and their family as essential in making this medical advancement possible.
