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That is a very legitimate concern.
I disagree.
Face transplants are very, very, very unlikely to become a routine procedure anytime in the forseeable future. The human face is a phenomanally complex maze of nerve, blood vessel, muscle, and skin tissue. Infection and rejection are huge and potentially horrifying dangers to anyone undergoing the process; only the most desperate of individuals would attempt such a risky transplant.
Routine plastic surgery - already widely accepted - is a far easier way to change the way one looks. If you present identity-alteration as a concern against facial transplants, you should oppose plastic surgery by several orders of magnitude more. Breast implants in particular ... GIs never would have even looked at Hitler's face if he'd been sporting a pair of double-Ds.
Honestly, I think that both identity and psycological concerns are a bit hysterical and / or silly here. The only people undergoing the procedure will be those with such horrible facial scaring that it makes the frightening risks seem worthwhile. And while I certainly agree that we should accept people as they are without regard to physical appearance, I would never dare to moralize against a disfigured person for doing whatever they can to cure their condition. It's all well and good to speak of acceptance when you have a normal, healthy face to look at in the mirror every morning ... if children ran away from you screaming when you looked at them, you might feel differently.
My thoughts and good hopes are with those who are in need of such a procedure. If medical science can help them, it should do so.
S
More dangerous ideas like this at The Zoo.
http://the-zoo.blogspot.com/
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