There was plenty of media attention on the nation’s first face transplant last week.
Surgeon Jeffrey Parks takes a more cautious approach, discussing the very real risk of rejection. If a kidney or liver transplant fails for instance, the patient can go back on the donor list until another one becomes available.
But what about the face? It’s not like there are plenty of those available. Dr. Parks worries about the ramifications of this long-term risk: “Can you imagine living in social isolation for years after an injury/accident, then being given a new face, a new identity via a graft which allows you to re-enter society and present yourself as a complete physical human being, just like everyone else, only to have that torn away from you after a couple years because of rejection issues?”
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