AIIMS to start India's 1st face transplant program
Big news from AIIMS Delhi: they're starting the country's very first face transplant program, aiming to help people with severe facial injuries from burns, accidents, or violence—especially those who haven't found relief even after multiple surgeries.
The initiative was underway from February 11-15 and initiated the process of setting up a registry of patients with severe facial deformities.
AIIMS is collaborating with Harvard Medical School
To get ready, doctors at AIIMS held a hands-on cadaver workshop this week, practicing donor skin harvesting and collaborating with experts from different medical fields.
There's also a partnership brewing with Harvard Medical School to bring in international expertise.
Around 80 face transplants have been reported worldwide
Face transplants use tissue from brain-dead donors to restore both looks and basic functions like eating or speaking.
It's a super complex surgery that means lifelong medication for recipients.
So far, around 80 face transplants have been reported worldwide—mostly in the US and Europe.
AIIMS has not announced a timeline for treating patients.