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Face Transplant Donor Revealed

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Apr 15, 2009 2:05 pm US/Eastern

Face Transplant Donor Revealed

Watch: Video Explainer Of Face Transplant

BROOKLINE (AP) ―

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The wife of a Massachusetts man whose tissue was donated for the nation's second face transplant says her husband told her before heart transplant surgery that he wanted to donate his organs if he didn't survive the operation.

Susan Whitman tells The Boston Globe that her husband, Joseph Helfgot, learned to appreciate the value of life from his Holocaust survivor parents.

When the 60-year-old Helfgot didn't wake up after the April 5 operation, organ bank officials asked the unexpected -- would the family approve a face donation?

Whitman and their four children agreed it was the "right thing to do."

The transplant took place on April 9, the day before Helfgot's funeral.

The recipient's identity hasn't been released.

There are about 100,000 Americans waiting for organ donations. If you'd like to sign up to be a donor, visit the New England Organ Bank Web site.