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Agence France-Presse

When amputee Shreya Siddanagowder was offered new hands, the Indian student didn’t hesitate – even though they were big, dark and hairy, and once belonged to a man.
Now though, not only have her new hands become more slender, they have also changed colour to match her skin tone, mystifying the doctors who carried out the rare 13-hour transplant.
“The donor was a tall man with big spindly fingers,” Siddanagowder’s mother Suma said by phone from their home in Pune in western India.
“Now nobody can make out that they are a man’s hands … She has even started wearing jewellery and nail varnish.”

Siddanagowder’s life was turned upside down in 2016 when, aged 18, she was involved in a bus accident that crushed both her arms.
A delay in getting first aid meant that both her hands had to be amputated below the elbow.
Only 200 successful hand transplants have taken place worldwide – including nine in India – since the first in the United States in 1999 on a man whose left lower limb had been blown off by a firework.
The first in India was conducted in 2015 at the Amrita Institute of Medical Science (AIMS) in the southern state of Kerala, where Siddanagowder’s family took her.

The biggest problem was finding a donor. For cultural reasons, Indian families are often reluctant for the hands of their loved ones to be made available after their death.
“Usually you have to wait for a long time,” said Subramania Iyer, a member of a team of doctors who operated on Siddanagowder.
As a result, those seeking a transplant “are so desperate that they don’t mind if the hands are from a different gender”, said Iyer, a specialist in reconstructive surgery.
Eventually, the hospital obtained a pair of hands from a man in August 2017. Siddanagowder and her family accepted.

The donor hands were first attached by the bones before the tendons, blood vessels and skin were painstakingly stitched together.
After the transplant, she had to undergo more than a year of physiotherapy for her body and brain to get used to the new hands and obtain mobility and sensation.
Iyer said that the colour of Siddanagowder’s hands quickly began to show “a lot of change”, but that it is difficult to pinpoint why.
“It could be because of MSH … a brain-controlled hormone that stimulates melanin production. We are wondering if MSH levels can really influence the skin colour.”

Melanin is a natural pigment that gives skin – as well as hair and eyes – their colour.
Dr Shehla Agarwal, a leading dermatologist in New Delhi, said that the absence of testosterone explained why the hands became less hairy, and agreed that other hormonal changes might explain the change in colour.
But she also cited other possible factors.
“The donor male may have been exposed to more sunlight and physical activity compared to the woman,” Agarwal said.
Shreya on her part is loving the transformation – she even wrote her recent college exam with her new hands – and so are her doctors.
“We all feel very happy for her,” said Iyer.
“The best moment was when she sent me a handwritten note on my birthday. I could not have asked for a better birthday gift.”


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Indian doctors puzzle over amputee’s transplanted hands that adapted to her body

Shreya Siddanagowder brushes her hair in a bathroom at her home in Pune, more than two years after transplant surgery for both hands. Photo: AFP

This handout photo taken on August 28, 2017 and received courtesy of the family of Shreya Siddanagowder shows Siddanagowder after her hands transplant surgery at a hospital in Pune. - When amputee Shreya Siddanagowder was offered new hands, the Indian student didn't hesitate, even though they were big, hairy, once belonged to a man and were a different skin tone to her own. (Photo by Handout / FAMILY HANDOUT / AFP) / TO GO WITH India-health-amputee-science by Abhaya Srivastava RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Courtesy of the family of Shreya Siddanagowder" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS --- NO ARCHIVES /

In this photo taken on March 7, 2020, Shreya Siddanagowder gestures as she talks during an interview with AFP at her home in Pune, more than two years after transplant surgery for both hands. - When amputee Shreya Siddanagowder was offered new hands, the Indian student didn't hesitate, even though they were big, hairy, once belonged to a man and were a different skin tone to her own. (Photo by Sanket Wankhade / AFP) / TO GO WITH India-health-amputee-science by Abhaya Srivastava

In this photo taken on March 7, 2020, Shreya Siddanagowder turns the pages of a notebook at her home in Pune, more than two years after transplant surgery for both hands. - When amputee Shreya Siddanagowder was offered new hands, the Indian student didn't hesitate, even though they were big, hairy, once belonged to a man and were a different skin tone to her own. (Photo by Sanket Wankhade / AFP) / TO GO WITH India-health-amputee-science by Abhaya Srivastava

In this photo taken on March 7, 2020, Shreya Siddanagowder writes in a notebook at her home in Pune, more than two years after transplant surgery for both hands. - When amputee Shreya Siddanagowder was offered new hands, the Indian student didn't hesitate, even though they were big, hairy, once belonged to a man and were a different skin tone to her own. (Photo by Sanket Wankhade / AFP) / TO GO WITH India-health-amputee-science by Abhaya Srivastava

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Entrepreneur Stanislav Skakun, 36, has his blood taken for analysis at a private clinic in Moscow on November 28, 2019. - Some add chips to their hands to open doors or start cars, others hope to live longer through intensive monitoring of their bodies. They are biohackers, people who seek to "upgrade" their bodies with experimental technology and DIY health fixes. In Russia, the movement is spreading, with social media forums, conferences and businesses springing up to cater to their needs. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

Programmer Alexei Rautkin, 24, uses his chipped hand to open a door at his e-commerce company in Moscow on December 20, 2019. - Some add chips to their hands to open doors or start cars, others hope to live longer through intensive monitoring of their bodies. They are biohackers, people who seek to "upgrade" their bodies with experimental technology and DIY health fixes. In Russia, the movement is spreading, with social media forums, conferences and businesses springing up to cater to their needs. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

Igor Korabelnikov exercises on a treadmill wearing a facemask to analyse the gases in his breath at a gym that calls itself a "biohacking laboratory" on the 58th floor of a skyscraper in the Moscow business district on December 20, 2019. - Some add chips to their hands to open doors or start cars, others hope to live longer through intensive monitoring of their bodies. They are biohackers, people who seek to "upgrade" their bodies with experimental technology and DIY health fixes. In Russia, the movement is spreading, with social media forums, conferences and businesses springing up to cater to their needs. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

Naked mole rats are seen inside a labyrinth at the laboratory of Maxim Skulachev, a Russian biologist at the Moscow State University who studies longevity, in Moscow on January 22, 2020. - Some add chips to their hands to open doors or start cars, others hope to live longer through intensive monitoring of their bodies. They are biohackers, people who seek to "upgrade" their bodies with experimental technology and DIY health fixes. In Russia, the movement is spreading, with social media forums, conferences and businesses springing up to cater to their needs. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

A view of chips at programmer Vladislav Zaitsev's studio flat in Moscow on November 27, 2019. - Some add chips to their hands to open doors or start cars, others hope to live longer through intensive monitoring of their bodies. They are biohackers, people who seek to "upgrade" their bodies with experimental technology and DIY health fixes. In Russia, the movement is spreading, with social media forums, conferences and businesses springing up to cater to their needs. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

Paralysed man in France walks again with brain-controlled exoskeleton

French quadriplegic Thibault stands while wearing an exoskeleton at Clinatec laboratory at the University of Grenoble. Photo: AFP

This handout photograph taken on September 2019 and released on October 3, 2019, by Clinatec Endowment Fund (fonds de dotation Clinatec) shows French scientists holding an implant which tetraplegic 'Thibault' who uses an exo-skeleton, has between the brain and skin which reads the area of the brain which controls movement, at The University of Grenoble. - Paralysed since a fall four years ago, 'Thibault' now manages to direct the movements of an exoskeleton by thought, a kind of motorized armour. A first by French researchers, which opens up important perspectives for paraplegics. (Photo by HO / CLINATEC ENDOWMENT FUND / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / FONDS DE DOTATION CLINATEC - CLINATEC ENDOWMENT FUND" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

This handout photograph taken on September 2019 and released on October 3, 2019, by Clinatec Endowment Fund (fonds de dotation Clinatec) shows French tetraplegic 'Thibault' as he stands while wearing an exo-skeleton in the grounds of the University of Grenoble. - Paralysed since a fall four years ago, 'Thibault' now manages to direct the movements of an exoskeleton by thought, a kind of motorized armour. A first by French researchers, which opens up important perspectives for paraplegics. (Photo by HO / CLINATEC ENDOWMENT FUND / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / FONDS DE DOTATION CLINATEC - CLINATEC ENDOWMENT FUND" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

This handout photograph taken on September 2019 and released by Clinatec Endowment Fund (fonds de dotation Clinatec) on October 3, 2019, shows French tetraplegic 'Thibault' as he stands while wearing an exo-skeleton at Clinatec laboratory at the University of Grenoble. - Paralysed since a fall four years ago, 'Thibault' now manages to direct the movements of an exoskeleton by thought, a kind of motorized armour. A first by French researchers, which opens up important perspectives for paraplegics. (Photo by HO / CLINATEC ENDOWMENT FUND / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / FONDS DE DOTATION CLINATEC - CLINATEC ENDOWMENT FUND" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

This handout photograph taken on September 2019 and released by Clinatec Endowment Fund (fonds de dotation Clinatec) on October 3, 2019, shows French tetraplegic 'Thibault' as he is assisted by staff while wearing an exo-skeleton at Clinatec laboratory at the University of Grenoble. - Paralysed since a fall four years ago, 'Thibault' now manages to direct the movements of an exoskeleton by thought, a kind of motorized armour. A first by French researchers, which opens up important perspectives for paraplegics. (Photo by HO / CLINATEC ENDOWMENT FUND / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / FONDS DE DOTATION CLINATEC - CLINATEC ENDOWMENT FUND" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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When Shreya Siddanagowder, who had her arms crushed in a car accident, received her new hands in 2017 they were big, dark and hairy
Now though, not only have they become more slender but they have also changed colour to match her skin tone – mystifying doctors



When Shreya Siddanagowder received her new hands in 2017 they were big, dark and hairy. Their transformation since has mystified doctors.


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