It's a sad comment on our society that beauty is a more important than immune system when it comes to determining quality of life.Woman receives first face transplant in U.S.
Doctors at Cleveland Clinic replaced 80 percent of patient's face
The nature of the injuries or disfigurement that prompted the Cleveland case are not yet known. Such transplants are controversial, because they are aimed at improving a patient’s quality of life rather than saving it, and require recipients to take immune-suppressing drugs for the rest of their life.
(To be fair, the article doesn't indicate why the face transplant took place. If it restored speech or sensory capabilities, that could be more readily be seen as rating higher than beauty or immune system.)
6 comments:
Although I agree with you in theory the fact remains that if you are horribly disfigured it is very hard to not have it affect every part of your life in a negative way. If your hair is pink or your face burnt off people stare because it is different. It is a rare person who can just completely not care about the stares of others. If your hair is pink it is obviously much easier because you know you can change it if you choose.
I guess if someone choose looks over a strong immune system I would have to take their side. Assuming of course the damage was more than a blemish.
The uses of this operation that I have read about have been from horribly disfiguring accidents, the kind that leave you scarred for life and pretty much unable to interact with society on a "normal" level.
Now, I fully understand that someone with severe mutilation of the face can go out and do things, however other human beings generally have a hard time interacting smoothly with such people.
I wouldn't consider this to be beauty vs. immune system. I think this is about functioning in society vs. immune system.
Personally, I think these surgeries are awesome. There are military and fire fighters out there who have received horrible wounds that these type of surgeries may some day be able to correct.
Like I said, "it's a sad comment on our society."
I don't think it's a comment on our society at all. I think its fundamental human nature to be freaked out by someone who is badly mangled.
If you think it's our society and not all humans, can you cite a current society that would not react poorly to someone like these patients?
I would go as far as to say that it is a comment on our society, but I can't call it a sad comment. I agree with the SA on this one. At least I might agree with him if he is trying to say what I think he is trying to say. I definitely agree with myself in as much as I feel this way right now.
Flash of inspiration.
Phantom of the Porno!
I don't think it's a comment on our society at all. I think its fundamental human nature to be freaked out by someone who is badly mangled.
Okay, fine it's a sad comment on our species, or a sad comment on human nature, or something similar. You say poh-tay-to, I say poh-tah-to.
Point being, looking normal is a greater contributor to "quality of life" than having a normally-functioning immune system. To me, that says something about something. Fill in one or both somethings with something else, if and as you see fit.
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