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Boy Who Had First Double Hand Transplant Leaves Hospital With New Hands

Boy Who Had First Double Hand Transplant Leaves Hospital With New Hands

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Zion with his new hands after the world's first bilateral hand transplant on a child at The Children's Hospital of Philidelphia. — Zion with his new hands after the world's first bilateral hand transplant on a child at The Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaThe Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

August 26, 2015 8:04 PM EDT

The first child to ever get a double hand transplant went home from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Wednesday, his hands still bandaged but working well enough to let him play with action figures.

Zion Harvey, 8, lost his arms and legs to a life-threatening infection when he was just 2. He later needed a kidney transplant and was put on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life. But this tragic medical history made Zion the ideal candidate to be the first kid in the world to get new hands.

“The challenges facing Zion are new, but his determination should overcome them. He’s already done so many amazing things,” Zion’s mom Pattie Ray said in a statement.

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