Face Transplants : Ethical?

Pigman II

What do you all reckon about this upcoming case of a young woman who was viciously scarred in an automobile blaze and will now be having the face of a dead person grafted onto hers?

Right, or wrong?

BKtje

surely its only a part of her face and will probably make her look the way she did before the scarring.

Dont think there is a right and wrong here really. If she wants to do this and the dead person has consented (or their family) then i dont see the problem.

Kinda yucky tho

K!LL!@N

Of course it's right.
If you condone the use of other transplanted organs why should skin be any different?
I think some people have been given the wrong impression about the end results of this kind of transplant.
This is not "Face Off", you will not end up with the face of the other person.
Skin is elastic in nature.
It hugs the contours of the underlying bone and muscle.
It is this bone and muscle that shapes a person's face, not the skin.
So i think it's safe to say that a transplant receipient won't be getting recognised as the person they received the transplant from.
I think the biggest concern that the proponents, of this kind of transplant, have is that there are psychological issues for the patient.
Not everyone would be able to deal with the outcome of the surgery.
So as far as i know, potential receipients will have to undergo some kind of psychological examination before being deemed suitable for the surgery.

That was a long post, as i said at the beginning i'm totally in favour of it.

Killian

Manach

Nothing at all wrong with this case or any of a genuine medical nature.
But, given the human condition, everything is prone to abuse.
Elective cosmetic surgery, of the type Hollywood is famous for, will surely exploit this if the proper guidelines are not put in place.

mike65

Its only not ethical if the body part were being used without permision of the next of kin. I just think its amzing whats possible these days.

Mike.

Zukustious

It's a tricky situation. Sure it would be nice for a faceless person to hava a face, but what if someone who knew the donor personally recognised her and saw her everyday on the way to work or something. To me that'd be spooky. Face recognition in the brain is directly linked to emotional response. It would seem like more than just a face. You'd actually see the person and think "hey there's my dead friend that's actually someone who doesn't know me". Long story short, I don't think they should be allowed

BKtje

but can you identify your friends skin from some strangers skin when its blended in with someone elses?

That skin will only last 6 months befores its renewed ne way or something. (not sure of 6 month figure, but sommet like that)

K!LL!@N

Did nobody read my post?
A facial skin transplant will not leave the recipient looking like the donor.
This is not the movie "Face Off".
As i said earlier, facial features rely on the underlying bone and muscle structure.
Transplanted skin will adjust to the contours of the bone and muscle.

Killian

pro_gnostic_8

Can I ask a stupid question please?

Okay, I understand that the grafted facial skin will adjust to the base bone structure giving the patient his own unique features.

But, if the recipient was a person of the black race who received a facial transplant from a white person would he/she have a "white" face for ever after?.............. seeing as melanin (or the lack of ) exists primarily in the skin.

I'm not trying to start a racial/ethical debate or anything here ....... I really would like to know the outcome of such a scenario.

Tanx.

K!LL!@N

Originally posted by pro_gnostic_8
Can I ask a stupid question please?

Okay, I understand that the grafted facial skin will adjust to the base bone structure giving the patient his own unique features.

But, if the recipient was a person of the black race who received a facial transplant from a white person would he/she have a "white" face for ever after?.............. seeing as melanin (or the lack of ) exists primarily in the skin.

I'm not trying to start a racial/ethical debate or anything here ....... I really would like to know the outcome of such a scenario.

Tanx.

I think it's safe to assume they're not going to put white skin on a black person or vice versa.

Killian

pro_gnostic_8

Originally posted by K!LL!@N
I think it's safe to assume they're not going to put white skin on a black person or vice versa.

Killian

Why do you say that, Killian? Californian plastic surgeons can be persuaded to do anything for a hundred grand........ (M. Jackson springs to mind)

Clintons Cat

so who cares what colour michael jacksons face turns?
Apart from the obvious novelty value of him having a mood ring for a Head.

K!LL!@N

Originally posted by pro_gnostic_8
Why do you say that, Killian? Californian plastic surgeons can be persuaded to do anything for a hundred grand........ (M. Jackson springs to mind)

I'm talking ordinary people here.
I'm saying that if a burns victim is receiving a skin transplant, he's going to receive the same colour skin as the rest of his body.

Michael Jackson and others like him will do what ever they want to do as long as they have the money.

Killian

pro_gnostic_8

Originally posted by K!LL!@N
I'm talking ordinary people here.
I'm saying that if a burns victim is receiving a skin transplant, he's going to receive the same colour skin as the rest of his body.


Killian

Thank you for your reply, K.

So, correct me if I'm wrong but from your above statement any facial transplant will be race-specific?

azezil

why should it? in our 'colour blind' society why would it make a difference?

Zukustious

In our "Colour blind" society, people still take the piss out of Michael Jackson for the way he looks. That's the way it is.

Shinji

So, correct me if I'm wrong but from your above statement any facial transplant will be race-specific?

Given that the objective is to restore the recipient's own facial features to as large a degree as possible, yes, of course the transplants will be race specific.

On a pure science level, I don't know if there's an answer to your question pro_gnostic_8 - I guess the skin would gradually turn white as it was replaced with new skin generated by cells carrying the host body's genetic material, but I'm only speculating here - I've never seen actual scientific commentary on cross-racial skin grafts.