First some background. There are people that have various organs etc transplanted today. They do so because one of their organs is failing and without the transplant they face imminent death. So, to ward off imminent death they replace one of their organs with someone else's.
I looked to the fount of all knowledge - google - to see if there is something called recreational organ transplants. I didn't find any examples. People don't enter into a transplant lightly because of the serious side effects. Transplant-ees have to go on immune suppressant drugs to keep their bodies natural defenses from killing the new organ - which is technically just a foreign object. I don't know how this is different from giving yourself aids.
Several weeks ago I met a new doctor. In the course of our conversation he mentioned that I might want to consider a facial transplant. His suggestion took me by surprise and has caused me to question several things. Though I have thought about these issues, let it be known that I am NOT going to have a facial transplant.
The main question I have been thinking is this: If people don't transplant organs unless they face imminent death, does the possibility of a facial transplant mean that a disfigured face is analogous to death? Said another way, would a person prefer death to a disfigured face?
Thinking about some popular movies, it seems that pop culture does view facial disfigurement as something very grave. That said, even if pop culture views facial disfigurement in such a way, should it have any impact on how I view it?
Interesting to think about ...
-Bryan
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Deep thoughts, Bry. I don't know that a facial transplant would require quite the same magnitude and length of immunosuppression as a major organ transplant, but it definitely bears some scrutiny. As for society's take on disfigurement, I think any supermarket magazine stand will give ample answer. I love how open you and Nat are about your story. You put others at ease, and I think you're a great example of how to handle an obvious trauma with class and hubris. Miss you lots. Let's chew this one over when you come to visit us in a few months {hint, hint}.
I certainly wouldn't be surprised to find that some would prefer the option of death to disfigurement, as unfortunate and silly as it may seem. I suppose it's a matter of whether a person looses their identity over an incident which might have caused disfigurement or whether they have gained a sense of who they really are, like you seem to have done though your experience.
I also think an experience such as yours goes beyond the perception and intelligence of pop culture. But I have a sneaky suspicision that even had you decided to go with such a transplant, it would have had little or nothing to do with pleasing the "pop cultre" market.
Post a Comment