A UCLA surgical team of 17 performed the first hand transplant in the western United States on Saturday.
The 14-hour procedure granted a 26-year-old Northern California resident a right hand that she lost in a traffic accident five years prior to the operation.
To prevent organ rejection, the patient remains under constant care at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where she is undergoing physical therapy to help her body adjust to the new body part.
Lifesharing, a federally designated organ recovery program based in San Diego, identified a potential donor Friday morning, said Sharon Ross, community outreach manager at Lifesharing.
Before contacting the donor’s family, the organization confirmed that the body size, body tissue and skin color matched up well with those of the patient. Lifesharing then notified UCLA’s Hand Transplant Program about the match.
The patient was selected from a pool of about 50 eligible candidates for the transplant. Her good overall health and readiness to undergo rehabilitation treatment following the surgery made the procedure possible.
UCLA’s Hand Transplant Program was launched in July 2010 and is the fourth program of its kind in the United States.
“I am ecstatic with the results ““ a little tired, but ecstatic,” said lead surgeon Dr. Kodi Azari following the operation.
Azari, who performed four hand transplant surgeries before coming to UCLA, is the surgical director UCLA’s Hand Transplant Program.
Because hand transplantation is still in its experimental phase, only 13 procedures of its kind have been performed in the U.S., 40 worldwide. The first successful transplant was completed in 1998 by a team of surgeons in Lyon, France.
Compiled by Daniel Morizono, Bruin contributor.