First penis transplant man to become a father

A young South African man who had the world’s first successful penis transplant last December, has impregnated his girlfriend, said the doctor who led the surgery.

The man aged 22, who has not been named, is among around 250 South Africans who lose their penises each year in botched traditional circumcisions.

The nine-hour transplant operation formed part of a pilot study by Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch.

The patient was sexually active five weeks later.

It is understood the man’s girlfriend is four months’ pregnant.

“To us it means we are ticking most of the boxes where this guy can stand and urinate normally, can have sexual intercourse and his penis function has recovered completely,” said Andre van der Merwe, who led the surgical team.

“Now to have children is the last thing.”

He said that independent pregnancy or paternity tests have not been done to verify it was indeed the patient’s child but he had no reason to disbelieve the young man, who was employed and lived in Cape Town.

“I know that he can ejaculate normally and there is no reason for him to be infertile. I was expecting a pregnancy at some stage, even though I didn’t expect it this early,” he said.

Each year, hundreds of young South African men, mainly from the Xhosa tribe, lose their penises after coming-of-age rituals go wrong.

It is hoped Van der Merwe’s pioneering surgery will help them overcome the physical and psychological trauma.

Announcing the successful transplant in March, Van der Merwe’s team said the procedure could eventually be offered to men who have lost their penis to cancer or as a last resort for severe erectile dysfunction.

Van der Merwe has had requests for penis transplants from as far afield as the US, Colombia, and Russia.

“I do believe we will transplant again before the end of the year,” he said.

Van der Merwe said his team had been inundated with requests from men who want to have penis transplants.

“Right now we have about nine people on our programme,” he said, pointing out that finding penis donors would be one of the challenges, as is the case with any other organ.

by Wendell Roelf, Cape Town