Karnataka man receives India's first shoulder-level arm transplant at Amrita Hospital, Kochi

Amaresh, a 25-year-old junior power man working with Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESCOM) in Yadgir, Karnataka, lost both his hands in an electrical accident a few years ago. He has now got a new pair of hands in a very complex but successful hand-transplant surgery at Kochi's Amrita Hospital that lasted 18 hours.

The transplanted hands belonged to Vinod, a 54-year-old man working in the Middle East. On a visit to his native place in Kollam district, Kerala, he met with a fatal traffic accident when his motorcycle collided with a private bus. Vinod suffered a serious head injury, and was admitted to the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. Despite best efforts of doctors, he could not be revived and was declared brain dead on January 4, 2022. Vinod's family readily agreed to donate his various organs, including his hands, following his death, and that is when Amaresh's prayers for a new pair of hands were answered.