Spain performs first facial transplant from donor who chose assisted death

A hospital in Barcelona said on Monday it had performed a pioneering facial transplant in which the donor, in a world first, had offered her face for donation before undergoing an assisted dying procedure, Reuters writes.

The complex surgery involved transplanting composite tissue from the central part of the face and required the participation of around 100 professionals, including psychiatrists and immunologists, the prestigious Vall d’Hebron hospital said in a statement.

The recipient had suffered facial tissue necrosis from a bacterial infection caused by an insect bite, affecting her ability to speak, eat and see.

For such cases requiring facial transplants, donor and recipient must share the same sex, blood group and have a similar head size.

With a population of 49.4 million, Spain has been a global leader in organ transplants for more than three decades. In 2021, it became the fourth European Union country to legalise euthanasia.