Watch The Emotional Moment This Woman Sees Her Dead Brother's Face On Another Man After Life-Changing Transplant | HuffPost Life

Woman Sees Dead Brother's Face On Another Man Following Transplant

Natasha Hinde— The Huffington Post UK

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Rebekah Aversano's brother, Joshua, died three years ago in a tragic car accident, aged just 21.

Thanks to groundbreaking transplant surgery, Joshua's face has now been grafted onto another person, Richard Norris, who was left severely disfigured after he accidentally shot himself in the face aged 22.

A documentary, which will be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday 31 May, shows the touching moment that Aversano sees her dead brother's face on Norris' body.

Moving towards Norris to get a closer look, Aversano asks if she can touch his face.

Then, with her hand on his cheek, she says: "This is the face that I grew up with."

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Norris' transplant surgery, which took place in 2012, involved 150 doctors and nurses and took 36 hours.

During the operation, which had a 50% survival rate, Norris' jawbones, teeth, tongue, muscles and nerves were replaced.

Almost 18 years had passed since Norris shot himself in the face with a shotgun. During this time, he had undergone 30 operations to try and restore his features. But to no avail.

At one point, he even became suicidal.

But when Joshua Aversano, 21, was killed in a car accident, his family agreed to donate their son's face for a transplant - offering a glimmer of hope for Norris.

Speaking to Canada's CTV News, Aversano's mother, Gwen, said that they knew it was "the right thing to do".

"We can definitely see our son in him. Some of the facial features would definitely be our son, so we could see similarities, very much so.

"We are just so pleased we have been able to help him, even though we had such a tragic loss, we were able to give someone else the benefit of our son."

Richard Norris, Post-Face Transplant

Richard Norris(01 of12)

In this June 25, 2013 photo, Richard Norris talks to a friend after fishing in a stream near his home in Hillsville, Va. The man whose face was disfigured by a gunshot spent 15 years as a recluse, but now the 37-year-old is doing things he never would have before. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris, Andrew Kahle(02 of12)

In this June 25, 2013 photo, Richard Norris, right, shows friend Andrew Kahle, left, how to load line into a fly fishing rod at Norris' home in Hillsville, Va. Norris, whose face was disfigured by a gunshot, spent 15 years as a recluse, but now the 37-year-old is doing things he never would have before. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris, Andrew Kahle(03 of12)

In this June 25, 2013 photo, Richard Norris, back right, fishes in a stream near his home in Hillsville, Va., with friend Andrew Kahle, left. Norris, whose face was disfigured by a gunshot, spent 15 years as a recluse, but now the 37-year-old is doing things he never would have before. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris, Andrew Kahle(04 of12)

In this June 25, 2013 photo, Richard Norris, left, ties a fishing fly at his home in Hillsville, Va., as friend Andrew Kahle looks on. Norris, whose face was disfigured by a gunshot, spent 15 years as a recluse, but now the 37-year-old is doing things he never would have before. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris, Andrew Kahle(05 of12)

In this June 25, 2013 photo, Richard Norris, right, shows friend Andrew Kahle how to load line into a fly fishing rod at Norris' home in Hillsville, Va. Norris, whose face was disfigured by a gunshot, spent 15 years as a recluse, but now the 37-year-old is doing things he never would have before. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris(06 of12)

In this June 25, 2013 photo, Richard Norris ties a fishing fly at his home in Hillsville, Va. The man whose face was disfigured by a gunshot spent 15 years as a recluse, but now the 37-year-old is doing things he never would have before. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris(07 of12)

In this photo taken June 25, 2013 Richard Norris looks out from the porch of his home in Hillsville, Va. The man whose face was disfigured by a gunshot spent 15 years as a recluse, but now the 37-year-old is doing things he never would have before. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris(08 of12)

In this June 18, 2013 picture, Richard Norris completes homework for an online art history college course after visiting with doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. In the 15 years between a shotgun blast that ravaged the bottom half of Norris' face and the face transplant -- considered the most extensive face transplant performed to date -- that ended a hermit-like life for him, he faced cruelty from strangers, fought addiction and contemplated suicide. Now he's starting a new life with the hope that his life path will send a message of hope to people in similar situations and encourage empathy in others. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris, Eduardo Rodriguez(09 of12)

In this June 18, 2013 picture, Richard Norris's skin is inspected by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the surgical team that performed Norris face transplant, during a visit at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. In the 15 years between a shotgun blast that ravaged the bottom half of Norris' face and the face transplant -- considered the most extensive face transplant performed to date -- that ended a hermit-like life for him, he faced cruelty from strangers, fought addiction and contemplated suicide. Now he's starting a new life with the hope that his life path will send a message of hope to people in similar situations and encourage empathy in others. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (credit:AP)

(10 of12)

In a series of four photos provided by the University of Maryland Medical Center and a June 18, 2013 Associated Press photo, face transplant recipient Richard Norris, the recipient of the most extensive face transplant performed to date, is seen in a prom photo, from left to right, a photo taken before his face transplant, a photo made six days after the transplant and a photo made 114 days after the transplant. Norris received the transplant in a 36-hour operation in March 2012. It included the replacement of both jaws, teeth, tongue, and skin and underlying nerve and muscle tissue from scalp to neck. Norris was injured in a gun accident in 1997. (AP Photo/University of Maryland Medical Center and Pat Semansky) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris(11 of12)

In this June 18, 2013 picture, Richard Norris sits in the office of Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the surgical team that performed Norris face transplant, at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. In the 15 years between a shotgun blast that ravaged the bottom half of Norris' face and the face transplant -- considered the most extensive face transplant performed to date -- that ended a hermit-like life for him, he faced cruelty from strangers, fought addiction and contemplated suicide. Now he's starting a new life with the hope that his life path will send a message of hope to people in similar situations and encourage empathy in others. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (credit:AP)

Richard Norris, Eduardo Rodriguez(12 of12)

In this June 18, 2013 picture, Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the surgical team that performed Richard Norris face transplant, photographs Norris at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. In the 15 years between a shotgun blast that ravaged the bottom half of Norris' face and the face transplant -- considered the most extensive face transplant performed to date -- that ended a hermit-like life for him, he faced cruelty from strangers, fought addiction and contemplated suicide. Now he's starting a new life with the hope that his life path will send a message of hope to people in similar situations and encourage empathy in others. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (credit:AP)

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