A young woman from India lost both her arms after a bus accident. She was later transplanted limbs taken from a dark-skinned male donor. Over the years, the skin of the transplanted hands became lighter and the hands more feminine.
According to LiveScience, in 2016, both arms of 18-year-old Shreya Siddanagowder were amputated below the elbow. In 2017, she underwent a 13-hour transplant operation. The donated hands belonged to a 21-year-old man who passed away following an accident. Over the next 1.5 years, thanks to physiotherapy, the girl re-mastered the motor skills of new hands. Gradually, her hands and fingers became more like women. However, what surprised scientists most was the fact that the dark skin on the transplanted limbs became lighter, equal to the skin tone of Siddhanaguder.
Experts suspect that the girl's body produces less melanin than her hand donor had. This may explain the lightening of the new limbs, but more research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. The unusual operation was the first double hand transplant performed in Asia, as well as the first intergender limb transplant on the continent, according to doctors.
Photo: MOHAN Foundation / FaceBook
