Spain performs pioneering face transplant from donor who requested assisted dying  

At the Vall d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona, the grateful recipient said: 'I'm starting to look more like myself'

The face transplant recipient, Carme, third from left, with the doctors who performed her face transplant at Vall D'Hebron hospital in Barcelona. 

A hospital in Barcelona said on Monday it had performed a pioneering facial transplant in which the donor, in a world first, had offered her face for donation before undergoing an assisted dying procedure.

The complex surgery involved transplanting composite tissue from the central part of the face and required the participation of around 100 professionals, including psychiatrists and immunologists, the prestigious Vall d'Hebron hospital said in a statement.