Spain announced the first partial face transplant in the world coming from a donor who died by euthanasia. The facial procedure, performed in September 2025 and presented the February 2, 2026 by the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, opens an unprecedented route in the planning of complex transplants and proposes a new ethical framework for modern medicine.
The recipient, Carmen, a 60-year-old woman who lost the central part of her face after a bacterial infection caused by an insect bite in 2024, recovered essential functions such as swallowing and speaking thanks to the graft.
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The intervention, which lasted about 15 hours and required nearly 100 specialists, is part of a still experimental discipline, with barely fifty operations in the world since 2005.
The donor’s decision to receive aid in dying allowed the team to anticipate each stage with a level of precision impossible in sudden death donations.
From tomography, 3D models and silicone masks were generated that guided simultaneous cuts in the donor and recipient, reducing risks and optimizing the integration of tissues, vessels and nerves. In addition to her face, the donor gave up lungs, liver and kidneys, expanding the impact of her decision.
Milestone in Spain: Vall d’Hebron performs the first face transplant with a donor who received euthanasia
The donor had requested to hand over the tissue from her face as a solidarity action before dying
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— EL ESPAÑOL (@elespanolcom) February 2, 2026
Although facial transplants carry significant risks—from acute rejection to complications from permanent immunosuppression—recent advances have improved patients’ functional recovery and quality of life.
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