Man who received double hand transplant can now write

Things people take for granted are massive leaps forward after operation

The first person in the UK to have a double hand transplant says writing a letter to thank his surgeon has been one the highlights of his first nine months since the pioneering operation.

Chris King, 57, described how he has got his life back since the surgery in July last year, when he became the second person to have a hand transplant at the UK’s specialist centre for the operation at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and the first to have both hands replaced.

Mr King demonstrated how he can now do a range of tasks, including writing, making a cup of tea and gardening as he progresses even faster than his surgeon anticipated.

He said he is improving every week and his next aims are to tie his own shoelaces and button up his shirt. He said he has already cracked undoing them.

Looking at his hands, Mr King said: “They are my boys, they really are.

“I can make a fist, I can hold a pen, I can do more or less the same functions as I could with my original hands. There are still limitations but I’m getting back to the full Chris again.”

Mr King lost both his hands, except the thumbs, in an accident involving a metal pressing machine at his work in Doncaster four years ago.

Consultant plastic surgeon Professor Simon Kay performed the first UK hand transplant on Mark Cahill at the LGI and also did Mr King’s transplant.

Mr King and Mr Cahill became friends and are now members of an exclusive club, which now has an additional member after Professor Kay’s team carried out a further double transplant.

Mr King, who is single and from Rossington, near Doncaster, described how he celebrated re-learning how to hold a pen and write again with a letter to the professor.

He said: “Everything’s just progressing and it’s bigger strides too that I’m making – bigger than I thought I’d ever be doing.

“I think that will be the icing on the cake when I can do my laces, and I don’t think that’s far off.”

Mr King is determined to again thank the family of the person who donated his hands and encourage others to provide what he calls “this wonderful gift”.

“Become a donor and live your life to the full like I want to live now,” he said. “That’s the message I’d like to get over.

“It’s so wonderful. We can do some great things in this country. If only we can push it a bit more and don’t be afraid to be a donor.”

Pictures: PA. Chris King pictured after his operation last year and writing a letter as his recovery continues.

Mr King’s left hand before the operation.