NHS to offer first hand transplants this year

Publicly-funded hand and upper arm transplants are to be offered to NHS patients for the first time this year.

NHS England has confirmed that a leading centre at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will begin assessing suitable adult candidates and performing the complex, pioneering procedure from April 2016 onwards.

These transplants are the only method of reconstruction that results in an appendage that looks and functions like a normal hand. Given time, the hand can move with strength and dexterity, sense its surroundings, feel warm to the touch and heal itself when injured.

The centre in Leeds is headed by consultant plastic surgeon Professor Simon Kay, who successfully performed the UK's first hand transplant in 2012.

Suitable patients from around the country will be eligible for treatment. The team at Leeds will work in partnership with experts at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with the service in Oxford undertaking assessments and non-surgical elements of follow-up care.

Dr Jonathan Fielden, NHS England's director of specialised commissioning, said: "The NHS is leading the world in offering this cutting-edge procedure, which has been shown to significantly improve the quality of life for patients who meet the strict criteria."