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The Story Of The First African American Face Transplant

There have been fewer than 50 full face transplant recipients in the world. And up until 2019, there had been zero done for African-Americans. 

By the time Robert Chelsea changed all that, he’d already rejected a face offered to him over a year earlier. The skin shade was too light. 

Today, meet Robert and his godson, Everick Brown, and hear the story of what happened.

You’ll also hear about the progress being made in organ and tissue donorship within Black and Brown communities in America, with Dr. Clive Callender, the founder of MOTTEP, which stands for the “National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program”.

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GUESTS:

  • is the founder of - National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program, and Professor of Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine
  • is the first African American person - and the oldest - to receive a face transplant
  • is Robert Chelsea’s godson, and the Spokesperson for Donor’s Dream, a non-profit that raises awareness about organ donation

Jessica Severin de Martinez and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.

Chion Wolf is the host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on ϳԹ, spotlighting the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from ϳԹ, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de ϳԹ, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that ϳԹ relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

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