The news that the Cleveland Clinic plans to go ahead with the first human face transplant is drawing predictably heavy media attention. Dr. Maria Siemionow's team got the official go ahead for the controversial procedure from an internal review board at the Clinic last week. Siemionow and her colleagues will interview five candidates for the operation over the next month.
Ethicists are worried about the possible psychological consequences for patients and the ethical issues the procedure raises for doctors. Proponents counter that if successful, the face transplant could eliminate the need for severely disfigured patients to endure years of painful reconstructive surgery.
- see this story from the Guardian