A hospital in Barcelona, Spain, announced on the 2nd that it had completed a groundbreaking facial transplant, with the donor being a patient who underwent euthanasia and had proactively expressed a willingness to donate before death. This represents the world's first facial transplant using facial tissue from a euthanized patient.
According to “foreign media” reports, the renowned Vall d’Hebron Hospital stated in a release that the procedure involved transplanting composite tissue from the central area of the face, with around 100 professionals involved, including psychiatrists and immunologists.
The hospital’s transplant coordinator Navas said the donor had demonstrated “astonishing maturity.” She stated: “A person who had decided to end their life made one of their last wishes be to help a stranger, offering them such an extraordinary second chance.”
The recipient, Carmen (alias), suffered from facial tissue necrosis caused by a bacterial infection following an insect bite, which affected her speech, eating, and vision. She told a press conference on the 2nd: “When I look in the mirror at home, I feel I am looking more and more like myself again,” adding that her recovery was progressing very well.
Reports noted that for such facial transplant cases, both donor and recipient must be of the same gender, blood type, and have similar head size.
With a population of about 49.4 million, Spain has led the world in organ transplants for more than 30 years. In 2021, Spain became the fourth EU country to legalize euthanasia.
Of the six facial transplants carried out in Spain to date, half have been performed by the Vall d’Hebron Hospital team. This hospital in Catalonia also completed the world’s first full-face transplant in 2010.
The hospital spokesperson, citing privacy concerns, refused to disclose the exact date of the operation, saying only that the procedure took place in the autumn of 2025.