A young soldier who lost a portion of penis from a blast in Afghanistan will be the first person in the world to receive a penis transplant. The procedure, which will be performed by surgeons at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will be the first of its kind in the United States. The organ will be taken from a deceased donor, and the surgeons believe the penis will be fully functional within a mere few months.
Injuries to the penis are not uncommon in the military. From 2001-2013, 1,367 men serving in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered from injuries as a result of improvised explosive devices.