Face Off, Donors Soon Decide On Donating Face

Remember the hit 1997 movie Face/Off starting Nicolas Cage and John Travolta? Well due to medical procedure advancements the idea of transplanting faces could soon be a possibility. Faces are not the only transplants that could be achieved, with the U.S. Government preparing a new legislation to help donors who may not want to give up certain parts of their body. In other words the definition of organ donor is being reviewed, since now due to medical advancements doctors are able to graft hands, feet, and even though face transplants are still rare they can and are happening.

The new legislation being drafted by the Government with the help of leading transplant specialist Dr Suzanne McDiarmid, aims at informing would be donors out there about the new advancements so donors can still assist in giving another person the gift of life, without fear that they will be giving up something they don’t want too. Dr McDiarmid went out to explain the matter further;

“Joe Blow is not going to know that now an organ is defined as also including a hand or a face. The consent process for the life-saving organs should not, must not, be derailed by a consent process for a different kind of organ that the public might think of as being very different from donating a kidney or a heart or a liver.”

As stated before, face transplants are still rare procedures but they are happening. One of the first successful face transplants Happened in Victoria Australia in 1996, however in that case it wasn’t a transplant it was just re-attaching a woman’s own face. What do you think of this new change to being an “organ donor”,  soon the chances are the next time you renew or apply for a car licence you may have a whole new choice of where to draw the line on organ donations.

Thank you Nine MSN for the information provided

Image courtesy of NYDailyNews