Twenty Years Ago, the Concept of 'face Transplant Surgery' Raised Significant Concerns

On May 10, 2025, the World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) released an investigative report titled "Investigation Report on the CCP’s Belt and Road Organ Harvesting Industry Chain Development Model." The report exposes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s efforts to internationalise its criminal model of forced organ harvesting through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). (Source: Dajiyuan)

[People News] Today, when people hear the term 'face swapping,' they often think of AI software and various 'face swap' apps, which represent a modern technological approach to virtual image manipulation. However, twenty years ago, Xijing Hospital in Xi'an, China, actually performed a 'face transplant surgery,' where one person's face was transplanted onto another.

Medically, this type of 'face transplant surgery' is formally known as 'facial composite tissue allograft transplantation.' As the name implies, it is a form of allograft organ transplantation, but instead of organs like kidneys, livers, hearts, or lungs, it involves the transplantation of a person's facial skin, composite tissues, blood vessels, nerves, bones, and other integral components of the face.

The characteristics of this procedure include: first, facial transplantation is categorized as 'composite tissue transplantation,' which results in an extremely low success rate for matching. Second, the surgical requirements are more stringent due to the complexity of facial structures.

Because of the considerable challenges associated with facial transplant surgery, there has only been one successful case reported internationally, which took place in France in 2005. To date, the only documented case of 'same-species allograft face transplant surgery' in China occurred in April 2006 at the Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi'an, conducted by a team led by plastic surgeon Guo Shuzhong. The recipient was Li Guoxing, a 30-year-old youth from the Lisu ethnic group, who had suffered disfigurement from a black bear attack two years earlier in his hometown in Yunnan.

The recent "face transplant surgery" has garnered significant attention from both domestic and international peers, as well as numerous media reporters who have provided extensive coverage on the topic.

On March 11, 2006, Li Guoxing (李國興) arrived at Xi'an Railway Station after a two-day and two-night train journey and checked into the plastic surgery ward at Xijing Hospital. In February 2006, Dr. Guo Shuzhong (郭樹忠), under the auspices of the non-profit organisation American Nature Conservancy, visited Li Guoxing's hometown in Yunnan. He discovered that the right side of Li Guoxing's face was nearly completely missing, prompting him to consider performing a facial transplant surgery. After receiving approval from the hospital and obtaining Li Guoxing's consent, arrangements were made for him to travel to Xi'an.

According to media reports, "The surgical team waited a month to find this face among hundreds of potential donors," and "they conducted a total of 4 donor matching tests, including 1 preliminary match and 3 formal matches," emphasizing that "the most critical aspect of face transplant surgery is tissue matching." Lead surgeon Guo Shuzhong explained that tissue transplants require similar blood types and close tissue matching, stating, "Humans have 6 loci for matching, and at least 3 of these 6 points must be close; currently, this patient is close to 3 loci."

CCTV reported that the surgery took place on April 13, 2006, noting, "The donor was harvested at 12:30, and the vascular suturing must be completed within 6 hours before 18:30; otherwise, the donor's muscles cannot survive, which would result in surgical failure."

During the surgery, a series of procedures were performed, including suturing blood vessels, opening a drain for blood loss, managing excessive blood loss, and conducting an emergency blood transfusion. This was followed by skeletal docking and nerve suturing. At 5:43 AM on April 14, Guo Shuzhong announced the completion of the surgery, which lasted over 19 hours in total.

On April 24, Li Guoxing had his facial stitches removed and discovered that his previously angular, dark-skinned, long face had been transformed into a round face with a fair complexion. Despite the psychological trauma of being ostracised by villagers in his hometown prior to the surgery, he felt quite satisfied with his new appearance.

On July 28, marking the hundredth day post-surgery, Guo Shuzhong personally brought Li Guoxing to a media interview where he announced the surgery's success.

This "face transplant surgery" was recognised as one of the top ten medical science and technology stories in China that year and received a first-class award for national scientific and technological progress in 2011. Guo Shuzhong's team published 12 SCI papers related to this case, including one in The Lancet. He was also named one of the top ten scientific and technological workers in the country that year and was nominated as a candidate for an academician.

Li Guoxing, who underwent the "face transplant" surgery, returned home in 2007 after enduring multiple immune rejection reactions, side effects from medications, infections, and subsequent plastic surgeries. Unfortunately, he passed away in June 2008.

While this surgery was the only one of its kind in China and received much acclaim, a closer look from today's perspective reveals that the situation was far from straightforward, with some details that are quite unsettling.

Firstly, the time taken to secure a facial donor was alarmingly short.

According to media reports, the Fourth Military Medical University’s Xijing Hospital identified a match among "hundreds of donors" within just "one month."

Finding a suitable match is quite challenging. First, the donor must be a male with an age similar to that of Li Guoxing. Second, the matching requirements for 'composite tissue' transplants are stringent, with a reported success rate of one in ten thousand. Third, the media reports that there are hundreds of donors, all of whom willingly offer their faces. Who are these individuals, and where do they come from?

Given the high matching requirements for facial donors, the fact that one was found in just a month suggests that there is likely a dedicated donor bank somewhere specifically for organ transplants.

Additionally, the extraction of the donor's face is a crucial part of Li Guoxing's facial transplant surgery.

According to the media, 'Once the surgery begins, the doctors must first completely detach the donor's face... After that, the detached face requires several hours of trimming before it can ultimately be transplanted onto the patient’s face.' They also note, 'The donor must be removed by 12:30, and the vascular suturing must be completed within six hours before 18:30; otherwise, the donor's muscles cannot survive, leading to surgical failure.'

This clarifies the sequence of the surgery: 'Surgery begins... donor face removed at 12:30... trimming... vascular suturing starts at 14:30...' This indicates that the extraction of the donor and the transplant are carried out simultaneously. Li Guoxing has been hospitalised for over a month, and Xijing Hospital not only found a matching face from 'hundreds of donors' within this short timeframe but also managed to bring the matching donor to the hospital, conducting the 'face extraction surgery' concurrently with the face transplant surgery.

So, who is this compliant face donor who willingly sacrifices himself to provide his face? Was he alive or dead during the face transplant surgery?

Ultimately, between 2002 and 2004, several hospitals in mainland China were engaged in specialised research on 'face transplant surgery'.

According to various media reports, at least three hospitals were involved in research on 'face transplant surgery' during that period, two of which were military hospitals: the Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University of the People's Liberation Army initiated its research on 'face surgery' in 2002, and in 2004, a dedicated research team was formed and officially approved.

The Plastic Surgery Department of the General Hospital of the Nanjing Military Region established a research group on 'composite tissue allotransplantation' in 2003, with Chief Plastic Surgeon Hong Zhijian leading the expert team.

Li Qingfeng, the director of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, also began research on the 'face transplant' project in 2003.

This indicates that around 2003, multiple hospitals were working to overcome this world-class transplantation challenge. What does this signify?

In fact, the year 2003 is crucial because, at that time, organ transplantation in China was experiencing explosive growth. Former Chinese Minister of Health Huang Jiefu noted that the total number of organ transplants in China increased from several hundred cases in 1999 to 10,000 cases in 2008. In reality, in just 2005 and 2006, the number reached as high as 20,000 cases each year.

This explosive growth is also evident in the number of hospitals performing organ transplants in China, which skyrocketed from 150 in 1999 to 600 by early 2007.

Simultaneously, the hospital advertised online that it could provide organs to patients within a few weeks and even allow for advance scheduling of surgeries. However, in the United States, the waiting time for a kidney transplant exceeds three years.

What is the reason behind this phenomenon?

In July 2006, an independent investigation report by former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas revealed that the enormous volume of organ transplants in China, the rapid increase in transplant hospitals, and the extremely short waiting times for organs are all attributed to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) large-scale organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners.

The CCP began its persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, which coincided with the explosive growth of organ transplants in China. At that time, the abundance of organs attracted many foreigners to China for organ transplant surgeries, with the possibility of scheduling surgeries in advance, as the CCP utilized the organs of Falun Gong practitioners as a donor pool, enabling killings on demand.

The only reported case of a 'face transplant' in China occurred in this context. Reports indicated that after Li Guoxing underwent a 'face transplant,' his wife filed for divorce shortly thereafter, and he lived with his two children in his hometown, eventually dying 'under unclear circumstances' two years post-surgery.

Since then, there has been no further information regarding 'face transplants' in China. 

(Originally published by People News)