General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: As Transplants Expand To Faces And Genitals, Ethical Questions Arise [View all]Hekate
(90,645 posts)That's Plan B. Plan A is I use it up myself and die at the century mark, right?
I've had a signed donor card since about 1973.
The "face" thing creeps people out, but I am sure that by the time the transplant is attached to an entirely different skull, the face will no longer be recognizable to the late donor's family and friends. What a wonderful thing for someone who has been living with a serious mutilation to be able to breathe normally, talk, eat, kiss, and to walk outside in the fresh air without being stared at. What a miracle -- equal to when they discovered the much simpler procedure of how to transplant corneas and make the blind see.
The sexual/reproductive organs are different only in kind, not degree. A usable womb -- that is, one that might carry a baby to term for a woman who had a hysterectomy at an early age, doesn't come with ovaries. The genetic material must come from elsewhere -- such as the recipient's own ovaries, or a donor. Penises get constructed for transgender men every time, though again, a man who lost his through war or accident might rather have a transplant if it can be made to function as before. That does not mean genetic material comes along with it. Men who have had testicular cancer have been known to receive a "filler" that makes their scrotal sac look normal again.
I think that if an organ donor was worried about their specific genetic materiel they could certainly carry a card that made that explicit, as people do who only want their corneas taken.