- In 2005, Isabelle Dinoire was the first person to undergo a face transplant.
- After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, her dog mauled half of the Isabelle’s face;
Ironically, the organ donor also committed suicide, but successfully.
A French woman named Isabelle Dinoire was the first person to undergo a face transplant. Once groundbreaking procedure, which spawned a torrent of media coverage and ethical debates, from the fact that otherwise physically healthy people have their immune system suppressed for the rest of their life, to the psychological side-effects – the person has to live with the face of a dead person for the rest of its life.
And of course, the sad part about Isabelle Dinoire successful operation, which also sparked several debates – whether she was the right person to do the procedure.
Namely, she tried to take her life with an overdose of sleeping pills. Tania, her black Labrador Retriever, was frantically trying to wake up her owner, but at the process of attempting to help her owner, she mauled half of the Isabelle's face.
And last, but not least – the donor, who was the organ donor, had committed suicide just hours before the groundbreaking operation.
Isabelle’s family was confident that the dog, who as a result was euthanized, mutilated her by accident. By finding Isabelle wouldn’t wake up, she got more and more frantic and began scratching and clawing. Isabelle was heartbroken when she learned her dog Tania was put to death. She kept a picture of the Labrador Retriever by her hospital bed. After the operation, she adopted a new dog Max to aid in her recovery process.
In 2016, Isabelle died in hospital after a long battle with cancer. She was 49 at the time of her death.
