Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

The Story of a Face: National Geographic Unveils Youngest Full-Face Transplant Recipient in American History

14/08/2018

With unprecedented access granted by the Cleveland Clinic, National Geographic dedicated more than two years exclusively documenting this groundbreaking scientific journey

Featured as the September issue cover story of National Geographic, this is a story about breakthrough science, human identity and hope

WASHINGTON August 14, 2018: - In a world that seems increasingly obsessed with image, National Geographic has today unveiled an exclusive and powerful new story, over two years in the making, that asks the question: Are we our faces?'

To follow the story of Katie Stubblefield, the youngest face transplant recipient in U.S. history, a team of National Geographic journalists was given unprecedented access by the Cleveland Clinic to document Katie's journey and detail a full-face transplant procedure in a way that has never before been done. The story is featured on the cover of the September 2018 edition of National Geographic and is available now at natgeo.com/face. National Geographic has also released a 22-minute documentary, Katie's New Face, here.

The Cleveland Clinic performed the full-face transplant over the course of a 31-hour procedure in 2017. Writer Joanna Connors, as well as photographers Maggie Steber and Lynn Johnson, together spent hundreds of hours with Katie, her parents and doctors over a period of more than two years, documenting Katie's story at the Cleveland Clinic, throughout many surgeries, and ongoing as she continues her recovery.

The Story of a Face' is about hope and resilience, identity, the power of a family's love and devotion to their daughter, and the medical miracle that gives Katie Stubblefield a second chance at life, said Susan Goldberg, Editorial Director of National Geographic Partners and Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic magazine. It is told with the unparalleled visual storytelling that National Geographic is known for and uniquely connects audiences to the deeply human story behind the science, thanks to the bravery of Katie and her family who gave us unfettered access to share their journey with the world. The result is an extraordinary look at a breakthrough scientific procedure that will make you question how you think about the relationship between outward appearance and our inner selves.

Katie's face transplant surgery was paid for by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, in an effort to improve treatment for service members who are wounded in battle and come back with similar injuries. As such, Katie's face transplant surgery has made her a lifelong experiment for the treatment of ballistic trauma to the face.

Trauma to Katie's face occurred on March 25, 2014, when Katie was 18 years old, by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Katie received a full-face transplant starting May 4, 2017. Katie was 21 years old at that time, making her the youngest full-face transplant recipient in the United States.

Katie was on the transplant list for over a year before a donor was found. Adrea Schneider, a 31-year-old woman who had recently passed away, was a match. Her grandmother, Sandra Bennington, made the decision to donate Adrea's face to Katie. Adrea was a registered organ donor whose heart, lungs, kidneys and liver were also donated and saved lives across the United States.

In publishing The Story of a Face, National Geographic continues its tradition of bringing its audiences around the world incredible stories of science, exploration and the human journey in an up-close and personal way. In the last two years, National Geographic has explored the latest developments in the science behind addiction in response to the global opioid crisis; released a single-topic issue on the shifting landscape of gender that became a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting; and published The Race Issue, a controversial, yet timely exploration of what race means in the 21st century.

The Story of a Face, from the September 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine, is available online now at natgeo.com/face and on print newsstands August 28.

INFORMATION FOR PRESS:

Interviews and visuals available.

Story of a Face digital hub: natgeo.com/face

Direct link to full cover story, The Story of a Face : here

Direct link to full documentary: here

Link to Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg's Editor's Letter about the cover story: here

Link to b-roll of Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg discussing The Story of a Face : here

Link to list of available spokespeople and individual pieces of content: here

Link to September issue media alert: here

Link to social media toolkit: here

Link to teen suicide prevention resources: http://natgeo.com/katiespeaksup

PRESS CONTACTS:

Leah Jereb, Leah.Jereb@natgeo.com, 202-912-6716

Kelsey Taylor, Kelsey.Taylor@natgeo.com, 202-912-6776

National Geographic Partners LLC

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic's media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children's media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 130 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers and reachin
LINK: http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2018/08/14/the-story-of-a-face-nat...
See more stories from nationalgeographic

Most recent headlines

09/11/2025

Dalet Unveils Agentic AI Media Workflows at IBC2025

Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...

20/10/2025

Inside TAMS: How Time-Addressable Media Stores Could Redefine Sports Workflows

Inside TAMS: How Time-Addressable Media Stores could redefine sports workflows By Paul Markham Friday, October 17, 2025 - 08:57 Print This Story A penalty...

20/10/2025

Transformational Production: Inside TVN's Remote Production Push for the DFL's Bundesliga 2

Transformational production: Inside TVN's remote production push for the DFL...

20/10/2025

How NBC Sports Transitioned Stamford Facility to One Format: 1080p HDR

How NBC Sports Transitioned Stamford Facility to One Format: 1080p HDRMulti-year plan harmonizes workflows, simplifies operationsBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial ...

20/10/2025

NBA on NBC' Studio Production Team Is Ready for Tip-Off With Coast-to-Coast Tuesday'

NBA on NBC' Studio Production Team Is Ready for Tip-Off With Coast-to-Coast...

20/10/2025

Under Pressure: TVN CEO Markus Osthaus Considers the German Sports Broadcasting Market

Under pressure: TVN CEO Markus Osthaus considers the German sports broadcasting ...

20/10/2025

Carmen Emmi's Plainclothes Evokes the Rawness and Sensuality of New Queer Cinema

(L-R) Maria Dizzia, Carmen Emmi, and Russell Tovey attend the Plainclothes pre...

20/10/2025

Search and Follow Your Favorite Venues on Spotify

In March, we launched Concerts Near You to help listeners find concerts from their favorite artists. Since then, more than 3 million people have used it to disc...

20/10/2025

Arte Preta Brasileira Destaque No Dia AMPLIFIKA 2025

Em diversas cidades do Brasil, um movimento tem se fortalecido para celebrar o poder, a beleza e a profundidade da criatividade negra. O Dia AMPLIFIKA, agora em...

20/10/2025

Black Brazilian Artistry Takes Center Stage During AMPLIFIKA Day 2025

In cities across Brazil, a movement is growing that celebrates the power, beauty, and depth of Black creativity. AMPLIFIKA Day, now in its fifth edition, return...

20/10/2025

The Republic of Korea Selects L3Harris for Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft Program

Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft rendering...

20/10/2025

Imagine Communications Acquires Pixel Power From Rohde & Schwarz

DENVER and MUNICH Imagine Communications today announced its plans to acquire Pixel Power Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz. Financial terms of...

20/10/2025

Globecast Appoints G Morgan as EVP of Sales, Globecast Americas

LOS ANGELES G Morgan has joined Globecast, a provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, as executive vice president of sales, Globecast Am...

20/10/2025

Heartland Video Systems, Zixi Partner on IP Networking for Broadcasters

PLYMOUTH, Wisc. Heartland Video Systems and Zixi have partnered to enable broadcast-quality live video delivery over any IP network....

20/10/2025

A. R. Rahman on Facing Fear and Finding the Divine

A. R. Rahman on Facing Fear and Finding the Divine In an interview with Berklee President Jim Lucchese, the Oscar-winning composer reflects on how courage and...

20/10/2025

Sky unveils thrilling trailer of Original film Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon

Monday 20 October 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...

20/10/2025

Rohde & Schwarz transfers Pixel Power to Imagine Communications

Rohde & Schwarz transfers Pixel Power to Imagine Communications Companies work collaboratively to ensure continuity and ongoing support for existing customers...

20/10/2025

RT Prime Time to host final Presidential Debate

RT 's Prime Time is set to host the final Presidential Election Debate this Tuesday night, October 21, providing an opportunity to hear directly from Irelan...

20/10/2025

NVIDIA and Google Cloud Accelerate Enterprise AI and Industrial Digitalization

NVIDIA and Google Cloud are expanding access to accelerated computing to transform the full spectrum of enterprise workloads, from visual computing to agentic a...

19/10/2025

Sins of Kujo' Comes to Life in New Live-Action Series Set for Spring 2026

Back to All News Sins of Kujo' Comes to Life in New Live-Action Series Set for Spring 2026 Entertainment 19 October 2025 GlobalJapan Link copied to cl...

18/10/2025

NESN Taps Harmonic for Primary Live Sports Distribution

New England Sports Network (NESN) has chosen Harmonic, working with Astound Business Solutions, as its enterprise technology partner to transform primary distri...

18/10/2025

DirecTV Launches Gray's Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network

NEW ORLEANS, La. In the run-up to the start of the NBA season, WVUE-TV and Gray Local Media have announced a deal with DirecTV that will greatly expand access t...

18/10/2025

Berklee Celebrates 40 Years of the Fall Together Concert

Berklee Celebrates 40 Years of the Fall Together Concert Faculty composers Bob Pilkington and Greg Hopkins are among the featured artists for this year's ...

17/10/2025

NEP Group Receives New Equity Investment From 26North Partners LP, Co-Investors

NEP Group Receives New Equity Investment From 26North Partners LP, Co-InvestorsCarlyle remains the largest shareholder as the company prepares for the futureBy ...

17/10/2025

Apple Lands Five-Year Deal for F1 Distribution in the U.S.

Apple Lands Five-Year Deal for F1 Distribution in the U.S.Besides airing on Apple TV, the sport will be amplified on other Apple servicesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Ed...

17/10/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Marshall Electronics' Bernie Keach on the Future of PTZ Cameras

SVG Sit-Down: Marshall Electronics' Bernie Keach on the Future of PTZ Camera...

17/10/2025

L2 Productions' REMI Facility in Austin Can Produce Content From Anywhere

L2 Productions' REMI Facility in Austin Can Produce Content From AnywhereMusic festivals, sports events are produced via flypacks and remote control roomsBy...

17/10/2025

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Sarah Dowland, the Filmmaker Behind Sue Bird: In The Clutch

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

17/10/2025

Cooper Raiff Returns to the Sundance Film Festival With His Independent Series Hal & Harper

(L-R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chan...

17/10/2025

Ferramenta de arte da capa de playlists do Spotify chega ao Brasil com uma noite de autoexpresso

M sica e arte se uniram em uma noite especial na semana passada na ZIV Gallery, ...

17/10/2025

Spotify's Custom Playlist Cover Art Tool Arrives in Brazil With a Night of Self-Expression

Music and art came together for one special night last week at ZIV Gallery, an i...

17/10/2025

Spotify and FC Barcelona Extend Partnership Through 2030

Spotify and FC Barcelona are extending our partnership through 2030, continuing a collaboration that's redefining how fans, players, and artists connect. Th...

17/10/2025

Sports Fishing Championship Deploys DigitalGlue Storage Platform

MURRIETA, Calif. The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC) has deployed DigitalGlue's creative.space storage platform to streamline video production by centrali...

17/10/2025

TV Ad Impressions for Football Spiked in Q3

BELLEVUE, Wash. Football continued to cement its reputation as a bulwark of TV advertising in Q3 2025 with new data from iSpot that showed both the NFL and coll...

17/10/2025

Reeling in the Chaos Sports Fishing Championship Simplifi...

The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC), the premier competitive saltwater fishing series, has transformed its production workflow by adopting creative.space, the...

17/10/2025

QuickLink Unveils StudioPro Version 4 With Major Enhancem...

QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, announces the release of StudioPro Version 4, ...

17/10/2025

Westcoast Pixel dazzles with dynamic 3D video projections

Although the annual Grammy Awards celebration is best known for recognizing achievements in the recording industry, the show often proves a visual spectacle as ...

17/10/2025

Alex Dunfey Promoted to CTO at OpenDrives

OpenDrives, Inc., a leading provider of software-defined data storage and data services, has promoted Alex Dunfey to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from his for...

17/10/2025

University of Arizona Scales Up Broadcast Capabilities Wi...

The University of Arizona (UofA) has significantly upgraded its broadcast communication infrastructure with the integration of Riedel Communications' advanc...

17/10/2025

NESN Redefines Regional Sports Video Delivery with Harmon...

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North, has selected Harmonic as its en...

17/10/2025

Austin PBS Expands Facility-Wide Production Communication...

Austin PBS has recently upgraded its facility-wide communications infrastructure, deploying Clear-Com 's Eclipse HX, FreeSpeak II beltpacks, and V-Series ...

17/10/2025

ZEISS Opens BETA Registration for CinCraft Virtual Lens T...

ZEISS announces an open call for the closed BETA testing phase of CinCraft Virtual Lens Technology, the innovative digital tool that brings authentic lens chara...

17/10/2025

Lightware powers hybrid learning transformation at Centri...

Situated in the town of Kokkola, Centria University of Applied Sciences offers higher education across five core fields: engineering, business, social and healt...

17/10/2025

Pebble to automate CobbTV

Public information channel in Georgia, USA, to implement a powerful, simple, and cost-effective playout automation platform. Pebble, the leading automation, co...

17/10/2025

HBO Maxs Global Expansion Surpasses 100 Market Milestone

HBO Max is reporting that it has launched in 15 new markets, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Macau, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ukraine, boosting the streaming serv...

17/10/2025

Netflix Expands Into Video Podcasts With Spotify Deal

Netflix said it will make a major push into video podcasts, inking a wide-ranging deal with Spotify through which it will offer 16 podcasts in the U.S. starting...

17/10/2025

Viamedia Rebrands as Viamedia.ai

Lexington, Ky. As part of a push to highlight its advanced advertising capabilities, Viamedia has launched a new AI-powered ad tech platform and officially rebr...

17/10/2025

QuickLink to Showcase StudioPro Version 4 at NAB Show New York

NEW YORK QuickLink has announced the release of StudioPro Version 4, which the company is calling the most significant upgrade yet to its flagship video product...

17/10/2025

Apple, NBCU to Launch Apple TV, Peacock Streaming Bundles

NEW YORK and CUPERTINO, Calif. Apple and NBCUniversal said they will sell Apple TV and Peacock streaming bundles to U.S. subscribers starting Oct. 20....