Finance
Spain performs pioneering face transplant from donor who requested assisted dying
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 2, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 2, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 2, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 2, 2026
Spain conducted a pioneering face transplant from a donor who chose euthanasia, highlighting its leadership in organ transplants.
MADRID, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A hospital in Barcelona said on Monday it had performed a pioneering facial transplant in which the donor, in a world first, had offered her face for donation before undergoing an assisted dying procedure.
The complex surgery involved transplanting composite tissue from the central part of the face and required the participation of around 100 professionals, including psychiatrists and immunologists, the prestigious Vall d'Hebron hospital said in a statement.
The hospital's transplant coordinator, Elisabeth Navas, said the donor had showed "a level of maturity that leaves one speechless".
"Someone who has decided to end their life dedicates one of their last wishes to a stranger and gives them a second chance of this magnitude," Navas said.
GLOBAL LEADER IN ORGAN TRANSPLANTS
The recipient - identified only by her first name Carme - had suffered facial tissue necrosis from a bacterial infection caused by an insect bite, affecting her ability to speak, eat and see.
"When I'm looking in the mirror at home, I'm thinking that I'm starting to look more like myself," Carme told a press conference on Monday, adding her recovery was going very well.
For such cases requiring facial transplants, donor and recipient must share the same sex, blood group and have a similar head size.
With a population of 49.4 million, Spain has been a global leader in organ transplants for more than three decades. In 2021, it became the fourth European Union country to legalise euthanasia.
Half of the six facial transplants ever done in Spain have been performed by Vall d'Hebron staff. The Catalan hospital also carried out the world's first full face transplant back in 2010.
A spokesperson for the hospital declined to say the exact date of the procedure for privacy reasons, but told Reuters it took place during the autumn of 2025.
Some 6,300 organ transplants were performed last year in Spain, according to Health Ministry data, with kidney transplants being the most common.
In 2024, 426 people received assistance in dying, government data shows.
(Reporting by Paolo Laudani; Editing by David Latona and Alex Richardson)
Organ donation is the process of giving an organ or a part of an organ to be transplanted into another person. It can save lives and improve the quality of life for recipients.
A face transplant is a surgical procedure that involves replacing all or part of a person's face with donor tissue. It is typically performed on individuals with severe facial injuries or deformities.
Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a person's life to relieve them from suffering, often due to terminal illness. It is a controversial topic and is legal in some countries under specific conditions.
A bacterial infection occurs when harmful bacteria invade the body, multiply, and cause illness. Common examples include strep throat, urinary tract infections, and skin infections.
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