Pioneering face transplant from assisted-dying donor

A hospital in the Spanish city of Barcelona has announced a remarkable milestone in the field of transplant surgery.

The renowned Vall d'Hebron University Hospital stated that it performed a facial transplant in which the donor, for the first time, had consented to the donation before undergoing an assisted dying procedure.

Dr Joan-Pere Barret is Head of the Plastic Surgery and Burns Department at Vall d'Hebron and he oversaw this whole procedure. He's been speaking to Weekend's Julian Worricker and explained how the donor first came to offer her face for this extraordinary transplant.

(Photo: Dr Joan-Pere Barret and his team. Credit: Vall d’Hebron University Hospital)