# Quadruple amputee gets double hand transplant **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 14, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624 "2011-10-14T13:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/1 "2011-10-14T13:46:35Z")
This was on the news this morning. Richard Mangino, who lost both hands and legs to a septic infection, has gotten a double hand transplant, and there’s supposed to be a news conference this morning at 11. When i saw the news report, I had to stop and stare. _I know this guy_, said my brain. We were in the same writing group for a couple of years, until it broke up. He is an extraordinary guy – at first you don’t realize that he’s missing parts. He uses his two artificial hands dexterously, and he walks on his two artificial legs without crutches. I don’t think he’s had anything published (yet), but he’s an artist, as well, and has modified his prostheses to let him do things more easily. Here’s some of his artwork: [http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/gallery/hand\_transplant\_artwork/?rss\_id=Top+Stories](http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/gallery/hand_transplant_artwork/?rss_id=Top+Stories) [http://richardmanginoartist.com/](http://richardmanginoartist.com/) [http://richardmanginoartist.com/art.html](http://richardmanginoartist.com/art.html) He plays the guitar, too. \ [http://www.boston.com/Boston/whitecoatnotes/2011/10/quadruple-amputee-gets-new-hands-from-brigham-transplant-team/aJ5RoHXN1rfNay1mqwxb7N/index.html](http://www.boston.com/Boston/whitecoatnotes/2011/10/quadruple-amputee-gets-new-hands-from-brigham-transplant-team/aJ5RoHXN1rfNay1mqwxb7N/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/2 "2011-10-14T14:51:05Z")
That’s awesome. The big conference room upstairs is setting up for a press conference about it right now. I wish I could attend it. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/3 "2011-10-14T16:00:12Z")
You can’t help but applaud! ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/4 "2011-10-14T16:22:49Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > You can’t help but applaud! Must… Not… Say… “Let’s give him a hand”… ETA: seriously though, that is amazing - how functional are the grafted on limbs? (Going to read the articles now) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/5 "2011-10-14T16:32:04Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > ETA: seriously though, that is amazing - how functional are the grafted on limbs? (Going to read the articles now) I managed to catch a little bit of the press conference, and one of the speakers mentioned how amazing it is that the brain can remember how to control hands, even hands that are not its own. So I imagine a fair amount of functionality is returned. He also mentioned how similar hand and face transplants are in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/6 "2011-10-14T18:07:05Z")
/me waits for the [Evil](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilHand) to start …:eek:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/7 "2011-10-14T18:11:10Z")
Would love to hear a reporter stand up and ask, “It’s on everyone’s mind – can your new hands punch the monkey?” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/8 "2011-10-14T19:32:54Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > /me waits for the [Evil](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilHand) to start …:eek:😃 I thought about this. I wrote to him and considered mentioning _The Hands of Orlac_, but thought better of it. Maybe layter when he’s feeling better. (Orlac, by the way, was the name of my _piano teacher_. I don’t think i ever mentioned the movie to her.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/9 "2011-10-14T19:43:50Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Must… Not… Say… “Let’s give him a hand”…\ Oh, God, if I was in any way involved in that press conference, I’d be trying so hard not to say that that I’d probably blurt it out at some point. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/10 "2011-10-15T01:53:52Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Oh, God, if I was in any way involved in that press conference, I’d be trying so hard not to say that that I’d probably blurt it out at some point. I wouldn’t worry that the former amputee would be offended, but that they insurance company would consider anyone with the hospital offering to “give him a hand” as a way to reduce their payout by 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/11 "2011-10-16T17:04:28Z")
High fives all around. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/12 "2011-10-16T17:07:58Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Would love to hear a reporter stand up and ask, “It’s on everyone’s mind – can your new hands punch the monkey?” It’s “SPANK the monkey,” or alternatively “punch the CLOWN.” Although personally I prefer “jostlin’ the elder.” Your way sounds like Biff Tannen telling Marty McFly to “make like a tree and get out of here.” ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/13 "2011-10-16T18:26:19Z")
Qestion: if the new hand’s nerves can be reconnected (so that the hands can be sed), why can’t a severed spinal cord be re-connected? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/14 "2011-10-16T21:18:52Z")
Apparently our peripheral nerves have regenerative capabilities our spinal nerves do not. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/15 "2011-10-17T17:10:29Z")
I wonder if the donors fingerprints are on file, and if it could implications in the receipients life. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/16 "2011-10-17T17:13:54Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I wonder if the donors fingerprints are on file, and if it could implications in the receipients life. Why do you think that the donor was so eager to give them up? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/17 "2011-10-17T18:11:31Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Qestion: if the new hand’s nerves can be reconnected (so that the hands can be sed), why can’t a severed spinal cord be re-connected? It’s maddening, but they just don’t work when you do. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/18 "2011-10-18T06:30:24Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Qestion: if the new hand’s nerves can be reconnected (so that the hands can be sed), why can’t a severed spinal cord be re-connected? I understand part of the problem is simply knowing which cell half goes with which one: think of it as separate cables on the hand, vs a bunch of cables in the spine - and they’re all the same color, and the same damage which cut them will have shuffled them. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/19 "2011-10-18T06:43:50Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > It’s “SPANK the monkey,” or alternatively “punch the CLOWN.” Although personally I prefer “jostlin’ the elder.” I’ve heard “punch the monkey” since high school, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624/20 "2011-10-18T17:06:22Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > High fives all around. And two thumbs up for the doctors. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quadruple-amputee-gets-double-hand-transplant/599624.md?page=2)