Are face transplants ethical?

There's some debate as to the ethics of face transplant. Most people who object to face transplant stand by the argument that having a severely disfigured face is not life-threatening. But this is only somewhat correct. Some people who are severely disfigured don’t even leave their homes. They are despondent, suicidal. Some have even killed themselves. One woman I featured in my book wanted so badly to kill herself. What stopped her? Not only was her face terribly disfigured from an accident, but her hands were too. She physically couldn't use them to take her own life. (She, by the way, contacted Cleveland Clinic in 2005 to inquire about face transplant.)

To my mind, the real questions are these: Is quality of life just as important as life? Is any loss less than loss of life frivolous?

When I interviewed Christine Piff, founder of Let’s Face It, an England-based international organization for people with facial differences, she said she wasn’t an advocate for face transplants at first. After she learned more about the procedure, she became an advocate. In Christine's 22 years of working with thousands of people with facial differences, she's seen the devastation and despair that result from being shunned by society. Face transplants could mean a chance at a normal life.

Christine understands this firsthand. When she was 36, she lost her left eye, half her palate and her upper jaw to cancer.

If nothing else, the sensationalism around face transplant has elevated awareness of facial differences and given those who are badly disfigured a measure of hope.

The other problem I have with this debate is that choosing to undergo a procedure as serious as face transplant must be a very personal decision. As Christine says in my book, "Unless you've been involved with someone with facial disfigurement, it's easy to be judgmental." Who are we to say what's good for someone else? We (meaning ordinary citizens) should not pass judgment. Not when we haven't experienced the world from behind their eyes and seen the expressions of the faces looking back at them.