ROCHESTER — Ten years ago, as Derek Pfaff was on life support following a self-inflicted gunshot wound, his family was preparing to donate his organs, if he died. Now, 30-year-old Derek Pfaff is on the other side of organ and tissue donation — earlier this year, the Harbor Beach, Michigan, man received a face transplant at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. "We're just very thankful," said Jerry Pfaff, Derek's father.
Two and a half years of preparation went into the 50-hour procedure, which began on Feb. 4, 2024. The operation was the second of its kind at Mayo Clinic and places Derek Pfaff among just a few dozen people in the world who have received a face transplant.
"You need to have a connection with your patient, and with face transplant, that comes at the highest level where you have to work with them through good times and through bad times," said Dr. Samir Mardini, a facial plastic surgeon and chair of Mayo Clinic's Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Derek Pfaff doesn't remember what happened the night he attempted suicide.
His mom, Lisa Pfaff, said it was spring break and Derek was home from college, where "we knew he was putting a lot of pressure on himself." That Tuesday night, Derek Pfaff had just come back from a ski trip and was hanging out with some friends at his parents' house. At 1:30 a.
m., when Jerry got up for work, Lisa said she went to Derek's room to check on him. He wasn't there, and Jerry hadn't seen him elsewhere in the house.
"(Jerry) had n.
