First Double Hand Transplant for Child

An 8-year-old boy who lost both hands to a bacterial infection as a toddler became the first child to receive a double hand transplant. Zion Harvey and his mother stumbled upon the transplant opportunity when they went looking for prosthetics that would fit his needs, and the new hands will grow with him as he ages. “But when I first met him, I said to him, ‘Why do you want hands, Zion?’ And he said ‘’Cause I want to swing on the monkey bars,’’ the doctor leading a 40-member transplant team in Philadelphia said. “That’s a pretty logical answer for an 8-year-old. And a pretty profound statement to me.”