World's first penis transplant patient to become father

A South African man who had the world’s first successful penis transplant is to become a father less than a year after the breakthrough surgery.

Prof André van der Merwe, who led the operating team, announced that the 21-year-old’s girlfriend was pregnant. “He’s definitely smiling big,” the urologist, based at Stellenbosch University, said on Friday. “He’s proud. He’s also a little bit shy.”

The man’s partner was four months pregnant so the baby could be expected in November, Van der Merwe added. It is not yet known whether it will be a boy or a girl. The man’s mother and sisters have been informed.

The man’s penis was amputated three years ago after life-threatening complications arising from a botched circumcision. His penis had developed gangrene. He was 18 and sexually active at the time.

The man, whose identity is being kept secret, received his new penis from an organ donor in a nine-hour operation on 11 December at Tygerberg hospital in Cape Town. Van der Merwe said they had discussed beforehand questions such as “Can I have sexual intercourse?” and “Can I have children?” He added: “We’ve ticked all the boxes.”