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Face Transplants On The Way 214

Posted by CmdrTaco from the here-comes-a-james-bond-plotline dept.
kwertii writes "A British surgeon claims face transplants are just a few months off. The procedure "could involve a patient being given new lips, chin, ears, nose, skin and bone from a recently deceased person." The problem? Surveys indicate that very few people are willing to donate their face. Would you?"
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Face Transplants On The Way More

Face Transplants On The Way

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  • Sadly (Score:5, Insightful)

    by newsdee ( 629448 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:56PM (#4775528) Homepage Journal
    Many people around the world are donating much more than a face for a quick buck. So, yes, some people will donate it if it doesn't kill them.

  • This is a duplicate (Score:3, Informative)

    by Radagast ( 2416 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:57PM (#4775536) Homepage
    ...from a few days ago.
    • Good GOD! EDITORS! WAKE UP!

      Why don't the higher-ups at /. care about all these duplicates?

      - Peter
    • Yay! Karma whoring time
      *goes to look for +5 mods from t'other day*

      "Uh... well, I don't know where Michael Jackson got his face from, but the nose is obviously from another planet."

      "I think this face transplanting has been going on for quite some time. Why, as a student I would go out to a bar and go home with a beautiful stunner. But, next day her face had been 'transplanted' leaving the stunner with the face of a munter. ;-) "

      Yes, it's a slow day :)

  • In your face! (Score:5, Informative)

    by neonstz ( 79215 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:57PM (#4775537) Homepage
    Repeat [slashdot.org] :) It's even referring to the same story.

  • Hmmm ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rolo Tomasi ( 538414 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:58PM (#4775538) Homepage Journal
    If you look at the picture of Dr. Butler, you realize why he's working on this technique.
  • But hobbits shouldn't be raising human children!

  • Deja View (Score:5, Funny)

    by thatguywhoiam ( 524290 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:59PM (#4775546)
    "Huh... deja vu."

    "What?"

    "Nothing... just a deja vu."

    "What exactly did you see?"

    "Uh... an article was posted, then the exact same article was posted again."

    "Are you sure it was the same article?"

    "Pretty sure, yeah. What's wrong?"

    "A deja vu is a glitch in Slashdot. It happens when they change something..."

    • Tank! I need an exit! QUICK!

    • Re:Deja View (Score:5, Funny)

      by Ledora ( 611009 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @01:06PM (#4775615)
      "A deja vu is a glitch in Slashdot. It happens when they change something..." Editors one hopes :P
    • This just made me crack up....
      Thanks for the laugh, i needed that....

    • Or when the DON'T change something. C'mon editors...I don't mind a slow news day. I mind people acting like we the readership are stupid.

      Jeezus

    • "Are you saying I can dodge spelling errors?

      "No, Neo. I'm saying that when the time comes, you won't have to."

    • Re:Deja View (Score:1, Offtopic)

      by pVoid ( 607584 )
      Speaking of which, why don't we just hijack this thread and turn it into a Matrix story?

      So how do you all feel about the new ones coming out? all hype or the real deal?

      • Please just listen. I know why you're here, pVoid. I know what you've been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night you sit at your computer. You're looking for him. I know, because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, pVoid. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question just as I did.

        In my opinion, there's so much fantastic original material from artists like Poppy Z. Brite and Neil Gaiman on their website [whatisthematrix.com], that I don't even care how the sequels turn out. Although I do hope for the best of course and am rather excited for the trailers to start appearing...

  • This is getting out of hand. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Angstrom91 ( 607084 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:59PM (#4775549)
    Okay, the editors are human and make mistakes.. you can't expect everyone to know what everyone else has put on the site.. but this is a repost of front page news from yesterday.

    http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11 /2 7/1639243&mode=thread&tid=134

    If it's a repost of an old article, it's understandable.. but articles that are still on the front page? C'mon guys, there's just no excuse for that.
    • Yeah, surely it *can't* be hard to set up a system where an editor types in a few keywords for each story. Then, when posting a story, a script runs quickly, spots likely matches (based on the keywords of previous stories), and flags them up. Come on editors, this is getting beyond a joke.

      • Or something for meta-meta-moderators (?) to yank a story after noticing it's a dupe.

        This would certainly help /. editors to save face when they goof up like this.

        Oh, was that a pun too? Excellent.
        • They can do that now, but they dont, as by the time its noticed theres already active discussion on the story and it would be bad to just end it all.
        • Well, in that case, maybe it's time for a button in the preferences. Set a flag for stories that have been moderated as repeats, and you can choose whether you want to see the repeats, perhaps for some macabre reason you actually want to see a second discussion on the topic. For the rest of us though, it would be nice if once a story is identified as a repeat, if we could just skip it as easily as though it were a story by Jon Katz. Professional Therapist.
      • Yeah, surely it *can't* be hard to set up a system where an editor types in a few keywords for each story.

        Or maybe they could set up some kind of system to display a list of articles that have already been posted on Slashdot. They could scan through it for articles that look similar.

        Oh, wait... [slashdot.org] Or maybe a page that displays summaries [slashdot.org] for the most recently posted articles. Maybe a system like that is too difficult to implement?

  • Reminds me of this guy... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Cap'n Canuck ( 622106 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:59PM (#4775552)
    ...who named his son Pete. He had another son, so he called him Repete.

    (buh-dump) Thank, you, I'll be here all week.

    Karma: Nuetral (Mostly effected by misspeling and tpyos)

  • Imagine filling in 'face' on the back of your driver's license...

    sig?

  • Why not? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Cujo ( 19106 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @12:59PM (#4775558) Homepage Journal

    Sure, the dead have no more use for a face than a liver. If you want my face [earthlink.net], your desperation would no doubt elicit my sympathy (except that I'd be preoccupied with the whole being dead business).

    • Re:Why not? (Score:4, Funny)

      by isorox ( 205688 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @01:05PM (#4775608) Homepage Journal
      Which one are you?
    • Of course, some people still want to do things after they are dead...

      check this out Tupac Announces Tour in Support of New CD [dailyprobe.com]

      See, If tupac can still make cd's and tour, maybe we will still need our faces

    • I'm sure there are those of you thinking about the chance of bumping into a former spouse/lover or getting slugged because the guy whose face you took was an asshole.

      1) They'll check for rejection first (DUH!)
      2) They'll make sure that they at least get the right skin colour.
      3) You can probably so "no" if you don't like the guy's face.
      4) The face won't look the same, due to the fact that the flesh and bones will shape the face.
      5) If you still don't like it, GET A FACE LIFT

      Karma: Excellent (Mostly affected by being served with fava beans and a nice Chianti)

  • hmm (Score:3, Funny)

    by the_other_one ( 178565 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @01:00PM (#4775559) Homepage

    They but a new face on this story. [slashdot.org]

    Then re-used it

  • And now my leg hurts.

    I wouldn't donate my face, because that could traumatize my family, or the new owner.

    I'll donate my organs, but don't track me down and carve me up while I'm still alive please...

    I'd also donate my brain, but we need to develop that procedure still...

  • Taco (Score:1)

    by scotay ( 195240 )
    Slashdot editors are a bunch of double-dealing two-faced [slashdot.org] bastards.

  • Farkin' A! (Score:1, Troll)

    by ekrout ( 139379 )
    Someone help me rip this bird face [slashdot.org] off my head! I knew I should've waited 'till the 1.0 release...
  • ...from yesterday's news!
  • ...that way I'd be able to satisfy all those who accuse me of talking out my ass. And people would be less reluctant to actually kiss my ass. My only question refers to the donor situation.

  • Slashdot (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Renews for nerds. Stuff that rematters

  • No. (Score:2)

    by mirko ( 198274 )
    Surveys indicate that very few people are willing to donate their face. Would you?"

    I am planning to give any vital organs I may still have after I am dead but I refuse the reste to become consummer goods.

    If people want a face, I guess plastic surgery is a better option.

    • If people want a face, I guess plastic surgery is a better option.


      this article was on the late night news where I live last night... there's this poor girl in england that was in a fire as a toddler, her face was extremely badly mutilated. In cases like this, there is only so much plastic surgery can do... plus the poor thing has to get skin grafts every month or too.

      -- james
  • This is not the kind of story one should forward to their spouse!
  • now we can spend the next 40mins insulting Mr Taco.
    what a way to end a boring day at work
  • I guess it's about to come to Urth....
  • Look, I normally hate the "this is a duplicate" posts just as much as the next guy, but this is just stunning.

    I can see someone forgetting an old story that was posted. Maybe even something as young as a month, really. And I can see two posts being placed at the same time because the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing. But almost precisely 24 hours apart? That's wonderful!

    Face Transplants On The Way [slashdot.org]
    On Thursday November 28, @11:55AM with 36 comments
    kwertii writes "A British surgeon claims face transplants are just a few months off. The procedure "could involve a patient being given new lips, chin, ears,...
    Section: Main [slashdot.org] > News [slashdot.org]

    Getting More Face Time [slashdot.org]
    On Wednesday November 27, @12:07PM with 239 comments
    ApharmdB writes "The BBC has a story about the possibility of performing face transplants within the year. Obviously, people are worried about the ethical...
    Section: Science [slashdot.org] > Science [slashdot.org]
  • ... and his face was ripped out while he was asleep. Authorities are now looking for someone that looks similar to this picture down...

  • I'm sorry, but having a face transplant sounds to me like the dumbest reason to have a transplant.

    If you've ever known anyone that's had problems with rejection/anti-rejection drugs, you would know how dangerous transplants can really be.

    I guess the point that I'm getting at is that the risks are too high involving face transplants, perhaps if you were Michael Jackson I could see why you would need one. It did well for John Travolta and Nicholas Cage though.
    • While the first idea that comes to our minds might be getting a face transplant becuase we want to be more beautiful... The real application of this thing is probably stuff like burn victims etc... in which case the risk doesn't sound so bad after all.
  • Lots of low scores today.......Including this post. :o( Oh well, who needs karma when you've got friends.
  • But he warned: "The chances are, it won't be long before it's used for aesthetic reasons."

    Not to mention that this kind of surgery could make the Face Dancer spies from Dune a reality...

  • Kundalini wants his face back....
  • Kill someone, get a new face.

    Even better...kill someone, donate your face.

  • About who would want to donate their face as much as I would be about who would want to go around with a dead person's face. But then I look at the Micheal Jackson and/or Cher pics, and it suddenly all makes sense.

  • But...but...it's only 11:20!
  • For all you lazy geeks - blatantly stolen! No credit!

    -
    How about modular faces you can switch out at will?
    Tom Cruise on Monday...
    Brad Pitt on Tuesday...
    Weird Al on Wednsday...
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-
    Why do I imagine that Michael Jackson was the tragically unsuccessful guinea pig for most of this experimentation? It would explain so much. Trying to give that poor man the face of some long dead woman

    Inside a dark room, the man who calls himself Linux Torvalds awakes.

    Linus: What...what has happened to me?

    Stands up, groggily making his way to the mirror - but what looks back at him isn't his face, it's...Steve Balmer!

    Linus: Nooooooo!

    Meanwhile, thousands of miles away at Linuxworld....

    Hacker (in crowd): Hey, is it just me, but did Linus gain like 300 pounds?

    Hacker2: Totally. The guy needs to go back on his mac n' cheese diet.

    On the stage, a man who's face looks like Linus's is jumping about the stage, clapping his hands.

    Steve: Developers, developers, developers....!

    -

    It's not just the flesh, it's the bone that shapes your face for the most part. That's why they can make those clay facial recreations when they find an unidentified skeleton. And that's also why Face/Off was so ridiculous...

    -

    I think this face transplanting has been going on for quite some time. Why, as a student I would go out to a bar and go home with a beautiful stunner. But, next day her face had been 'transplanted' leaving the stunner with the face of a munter. ;-)
  • Are they going to use the same plunger-like technology as in Face Off, where the face just comes neatly off with a slight *ploock* sound?

    Always found it quite amusing that their faces come off so easily.. I would think a slight nudge would then dislodge anyone's face...
    • Pedantic correction time, kids!

      The name of the movie is stupidly enough, not "Face Off." It is "Face/Off [imdb.com]."

      I am hideously irritated by brand logos that include punctuation and extraneous characters in lieu of letters, like those worthless tee-vee shows Arli$$ and The $treet. "H4x0r" kids are bad enough, but does TV Guide really have to emulate those "clever" little title-designs in print?

      And yes, that squishy noise was pretty amusing.
  • w00t! now i can finally get my vulcan ears, bajoran nose, klingon forhead and cardassian neck.
    Hmmz... I wonder where I can find a body of one of those anyway?
    Ebay maybe?

    sigh(h)
  • Yeah.. right.. I wanna kiss the lips from some dead person.. Totally sexy.

    What kind of sick individual would use this procedure if it was available? And who would touch them with even a 10 foot pole if they did?

    And then, it all becomes clear: Michael Jackson

  • Reminds me of William Gibson... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Winterblink ( 575267 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @01:28PM (#4775744) Homepage
    ... for some reason. Some of his books, Johnny Mnemonic most notably I think, have gangs that surgically alter their faces to look like animals. For example, there was one gang that had massive fangs "installed", along with complete alternations to facial bone structure and skin. Kind of weird, hearing (the second time) about this story on Slashdot, I'm wondering if we'll ever reach the point where these kinds of alterations will get cheap enough that they could be used as Gibson wrote about.
  • Have graphical depictions of nude women tattooed to your forehead and cheeks before death.

  • Look at Michael Jackson. It may look good at first, but eventually age catches up with you, then you could look worse than before.

  • New record! (Score:5, Funny)

    by FurryFeet ( 562847 ) <(moc.oohay) (ta) (xnaduoj)> on Thursday November 28, 2002 @01:33PM (#4775776)
    The repeat is here while the original is STILL in the front page! At this rate, the duplicates will soon be posted before the originals.
  • The operation is to be called a 'Faceplant'
  • I'd wager that Michael Jackson [bbc.co.uk] is going to be the first person to sign up for this procedure. :]
  • I moderate CmdrTaco down one point for posting redundant articles.
  • This brings a totally new meaning to Shaddap your face!!!
  • This is indeed good news for shady businesses. Let me list a few organizations that would kill you for your face:
    • Organized Crime (mafia et al)
    • Terrorists
    • Secret Services
    I would even guess some of these have already performed this sort of operation at some point, in order to go underground.

  • Botox! (Score:2, Funny)

    by David_Bloom ( 578245 )
    Who needs a 'brand new' dead face? Botox kills the one you already have!
  • I can't believe the amount of "this is a repeat!!!" posts... Mistakes happen, just when they happen here, a WHOLE LOT of people see them.

    this is thanksgiving, i give thanks that slashdot is here at all. :)
  • If the guy's face you borrowed was on a mafia hitlist?

    "No you got it all wrong wiseguy! I am not Sammy the fish! I just look exactly like him right down to the one of a kind tattto on my cheek....

    Bam! Bam!.....

  • What's next? (Score:5, Funny)

    by t0qer ( 230538 ) on Thursday November 28, 2002 @02:00PM (#4775900) Homepage Journal
    Face auctions on e-bay

    (shudders)
  • And no Logan's Run jokes?

    Maybe carousel came early this year.
  • I just fscked up big time.....

    My girlfriend is works in cosmetic surgery, so thinking she might be interested i just fowarded the link to her. Unfortunately, she has also got a pig ugly face, and I am scared that she may take it the wrong way....
  • People would be hesitant to donate their faces. You definitely could not have an open casket funeral if your face is gone. For many families... that is a big deal.
    --

    Sexe? [tilegarden.com]
  • Like any other foreign tissue you might want to integrate into your body, your immune system will fight to kill it (i.e. reject it). In order to stem this, you would be forced to take various anti-rejection meds which are notorious for having many unpleasant side-effects, even then rejection is still not guaranteed (can imagine having your body reject your FACE!?!?). Oh yeah and there is no going back if you change your mind, or if you get infected and lose the whole thing.

    Sign me up! ;)

    This would be interesting however, if they were to use cloned fetal tissue created from your own body, in which case rejection is a non-issue and you could look 18 for the rest of your life.
  • Perhaps part of the reason why the dupe wasn't spotted was the "clever" headline. "How to Get More Facetime" sounds like it's an article about office politics.

    Slashdot Editors, please read this: Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles, and Subject Lines [useit.com]

    You might get more people to take out paid subscriptions if you offered a more professional service.

  • "Generic news for the m asses"

    You have to love the BBC. The surgery picture is a generic picture: http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38516000/jpg/_3 8516219_yetmoresurgery300.jpg

    It could just as easily be for a news story entitled "Descending colon transplants from hyenas 'on the Horizon'"...

    -- Terry

  • This crime appears to be occurring in large cities and apparently is well known to the police community. Here is a typical scenario.

    Business traveler goes to a bar after a long day at work, and while sitting there, meets a fairly attractive young woman and they hit it off.

    Next thing he knows, he wakes up in a strange hotel room, he's flopped in a chair and his head is wrapped in a bandage. Written in lipstick a note on the table reads: "call 911, and don't touch your face!"

    He calls 911 on the phone next to the chair. He tells the 911 operator his story; she already knows where he's going with this and in fact has already called for paramedics to race to his hotel room.

    She tells him to very carefully reach in through the bandage and touch his chin. She asks if he can feel a five o'clock shadow. He does this and tells her he feels something more like steak.

    The operator tells him to remain calm, stay in the chair and not to move, the paramedics are on their way. Apparently this is not another crime of organ harvesting....but this time, the havesting of the faces. Because of the demand for face transplants and the shortage of faces, there's now a flourishing black market in face harvesting.

    For now this traveler is masked and awaiting his own face transplant. Lucky for him, the black market is thriving. He probably won't have to wait too long for another traveler to meet a nice looking young woman in a bar so he can have a new face.
  • "What'd you say your name was?"
    "Osama bin..errrr John."
  • Would you [donate your face]?

    Hell no! I'm far too ugly to be donating my face. Just like people who die of heart attacks shouldn't donate their hearts and people with skin cancer shouldn't donate their skin, ugly people should not donate their faces.

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