Tel Aviv Ichilov Hospital. Photo: www.skyscrapercity.com.

Dr. Eyal Gur, director of the Plastic Surgery Department at the Tel Aviv Ichilov hospital, and Dr. Arik Zaretsky, head of the Micro-Surgery Division of the Plastic Surgery Department, are preparing to undertake Israel’s first full face transplant, an operation which has only been performed 21 times around the world and is considered the most complex procedure in medicine.

While the patient has not been selected, some of the candidates are children, reported Israel Hayom. If a child is chosen, Israel will become the first country to conduct such an operation on a minor.

“The people being considered are holed up and isolated in their homes,” Gur said. “They do not allow themselves to go outside because of their appearance. I hope that we can help them change their lives dramatically—with the help of another person…whose family was generous and courageous enough to donate his organs for the sake of rescuing another human being.”

The operation could take anywhere from 24 to 36 hours.