In January 2024, an 18-year-old farmer's son from Gujarat lost both hands in an accident with farm machinery. The crush injury was too severe to repair, and both hands had to be amputated.
After detailed medical, psychological and immune testing, doctors judged that he was suitable for a transplant of both hands. Donor hands are rare and have to match closely, so he waited 13 months.
In January 2026 the family of a 50-year-old woman who had died in Surat agreed to donate her organs. Her lungs, liver and corneas went to patients in Mumbai and Surat, and her hands to him. Teams in Gujarat and Maharashtra worked together to bring the hands to Mumbai in the short time available.
The operation took place overnight on 9 to 10 January 2026, led by Dr Nilesh Satbhai, Director of Plastic, Reconstructive Microsurgery and Hand Transplantation. Over 13 hours the team fixed the bones, joined the arteries and veins, repaired the tendons, connected the nerves and closed the skin. Blood flowed into both hands as soon as the vessels were joined.
Afterwards he was cared for by a team that managed medicine to stop rejection, watched the blood supply closely, prevented infection and started rehabilitation early. It was the first bilateral hand transplant at Nanavati Max.
A hand transplant is harder than an organ transplant, because it moves skin, muscle, tendon, bone, vessels and nerves together, and skin is very likely to be rejected. When it works, it can bring back feeling and coordinated movement that a prosthetic hand cannot.
If you or someone in your family has lost a hand or arm, send us the medical reports. A specialist will tell you whether a transplant or reconstruction could help.