Penis Transplant

Doctors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have successfully performed the first penis transplant in US on a 64-year-old patient who lost most of his penis to cancer. Thomas Manning, the patient, received the organ from a deceased donor and the transplant operation went for 15 hours on May 8 and 9.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” said Dr Curtis L Cetrulo, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon and a leader of the surgical team. “It is uncharted waters for us.” Manning continues to recover well with blood flow established to the donor organ with no signs of bleeding, rejection or infection. Dr Cetrulo said that if everything goes as planned then normal urination would be possible within a few weeks and sexual functions in weeks to months. “I want to go back to being who I was,” Manning said in an interview. Manning lost his penis’ function back in 2012.

So far only two penis transplants have been reported worldwide: a failed transplant in China in 2006 and a successful one in South Africa in 2014 wherein the recipient fathered a child.