Face Transplants No Longer Science Fiction 

Full face transplants are no longer science fiction fantasy, a leading surgeon has said, adding that they are technically feasible but ethically complex. Peter Butler from London's Royal Free Hospital called for a debate on the ethics of such an operation made possible by new drugs which stop the body's immune system rejecting a transplanted face. "It is not 'can we do it?' but 'should we do it?'," he told the BBC. "The technical part is not complex, but I don't think that's going to be the very great difficulty... The ethical and moral debate is obviously going to have to take place before the first facial transplantation." The British Association of Plastic Surgeons will discuss the microsurgical procedure, which could give new skin, bone, nose, chin, lips and ears from deceased donors to patients disfigured by accidents, burns or cancer. But surgeons could have trouble finding enough willing donors. Butler said his survey of doctors, nurses and members of the public showed most would accept a face transplant but few were willing to donate their own after dying. Despite a number of ethical concerns, Christine Piff, who founded the charity Let's Face It after suffering a rare facial cancer 25 years ago, welcomed the possibility of face transplants. She rejected the idea that the procedure would mean people would end up living with a dead person's face. "There are so many people without faces, I have half a face... but we are all so much more than just a face... you don't take on their personality. You are still you," she told reporters. "If we can donate other organs of the body then why not the face. I can't see anything wrong with it." 



“改头换面”的问题 

一位权威外科医生说，人脸的整体移植已不再是科幻小说式的梦想。不过他也补充道，人脸移植虽然技术上可行，但它牵涉的伦理问题却很复杂。新开发的药品能阻止人体免疫系统对移植人脸的排斥作用，这种技术因而成为可能，伦敦皇家自由医院的彼得·巴特勒呼吁人们对与此相关的道德问题进行讨论。他对BBC说：“这不是能不能做，而是应不应该做的问题。(这种手术的)技术环节并不复杂，但我认为最大的困难并不在此……很显然，在实施第一例人脸移植手术之前必须就相关的伦理道德问题进行讨论。”英国整形外科医生协会将对这种显微外科技术进行讨论。人们可以利用这种技术将已故捐赠者的皮肤、骨骼、鼻子、下巴、嘴唇和耳朵移植给因事故、烧伤或癌症毁容的患者，问题在于医生们可能找不到那么多愿意捐献的人。巴特勒说，他在医生、护士和普通民众中进行了调查，结果显示大部分人都能够接受人脸移植手术，但很少有人愿意在死后把自己的脸捐出来。尽管有一些伦理上的顾虑，克里斯廷·皮福还是对人脸移植的可能性表示欢迎。25年前，皮福患上了一种罕见的脸部癌病，她随即创立了慈善机构“勇敢面对”。有人认为这意味着接受手术的人会顶着一张死人的面孔生活，皮福不赞成这种看法，她对记者说：“那么多人都没有脸(意思是严重毁容——译者)，我只有半张脸……但我们远远不只是一张脸……你不会有移植捐赠者的个性，你还是你。如果其他器官可以捐赠，为什么脸就不行呢？我认为这样做没什么问题。”

Remarks：皮福的问题差不多就是：如果其他东西可以不要，为什么一定要脸呢？——其实，物质的“脸”和观念上的“面子”都远不止是一个技术问题。