Clint Hallam

Clint Hallam (born in New Zealand) was the first recipient of a human hand transplant.

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Hallam lost his hand in circular-saw accident at Rolleston prison in 1984, where he was serving time for fraud. The original replant (a transplant involving the reattachment of the severed limb) didn't take, and he had his hand amputated.

A surgery team led by Australian Earl Owen and Frenchman Jean-Michel Dubernard successfully transplanted a new hand on 23 September 1998 in a 13-hour long operation in Lyon, France.

After an initially successful period of over two years in which he could move and even write with the fingers of the new hand, Hallam stopped taking his immunosuppressive drugs. The hand was then amputated on 3 February 2001.