A man in the US has become the first in the nation to get a penis transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Thomas Manning, 64, whose penis was removed in 2012 due to penile cancer, underwent the successful 15-hour transplant operation on May 8 and 9. The organ is reported to have from a deceased donor.

“If all goes as planned, normal urination should be possible for Mr. Manning within a few weeks, and sexual function in weeks to months, Dr. Cetrulo, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon and a leader of the surgical team, is quoted by the New York Times.

PENIS TRANSPLANT HOPE FOR SOLDIERS

The penis transplant, which is the first in the US, is experimental and part of a research program that will eventually help restore genitals of soldiers who loose them in the battle fields, as well as cancer patients and accident victims.

“The loss of a penis, whether from cancer, accident or war injury, is emotionally traumatic, affecting urination, sexual intimacy and the ability to conceive a child. Many patients suffer in silence because of the stigma their injuries sometimes carry; Cetrulo said.

According to the US Department of Defense Trauma Registry has recorded 1,367 male service members who survived with genitourinary injuries between 2001 and 2013.

Worldwide, only two other penis transplants have been reported: a failed one in China in 2006, where doctors said the man  asked them to remove his new organ two weeks later because he and his wife were having psychological problems and a successful one in South Africa in 2014, in which the recipient later fathered a child.