Double hand transplant on good samaritan

Three years after losing both his hands when he was pushed out of a running train for protesting against misbehaviour towards women passengers, a 30-year-old man has had a double hand transplant from a brain dead declared person and is fully on the road to recovery.
The marathon 16 hour successful surgery was carried out by a 20 member team of doctors at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences on January 12 and 13.
The family of Binoy, a 24-year-old-artist, declared brain dead after being on treatment following a motorbike accident, agreed to donate his organs, including his hands.
Manu was rushed to the hospital after his blood group matched that of the donor and it was decided to go ahead with the transplant, Dr Subramania Iyer, Professor and Chairman of Plastic surgery, who led the team, told reporters today.

"Each hand required connecting two bones, two arteries,four veins and about 14 tendons. The immune suppressant drugs were started before start of the surgery and continued after it", Dr Iyer said.
He said Manu was progressing well and had been shifted out of the ICU. As part of rehabilitation movements,activities related to daily chores has been started under supervision. "Manu is able to move his hands since his own forearm muscles are working to move the fingers," he said.

Doctors said sensations would return only slowly and is expected to be starting in three to four months.
The immunosuppressant drugs (to prevent rejection of the transplanted hands) would have to continued indefinitely, but at a reduced rate from three months, they said.

A moist eyed Manu profusely thanked Binoy and his family for having agreed to donate the hands.
In fact, after surgery, the first words he wrote was "Thank You Binoy."
The patient, who had no job following the accident, hopes to go back to his profession of Event management.
AIMS Medical Director, Dr Prem Nair claimed this was the first hand transplant in a coloured skin in the world and the first from a developing nation.