The world’s first double leg transplant will happen once a donor is found, Spain’s health ministry has announced.

A man who lost his legs in an accident, and who cannot use prosthetic limbs, will be the recipient.

A double-arm transplant was carried out in Munich in 2008, but no-one has yet received a leg transplant.

The doctor leading the leg transplant team, Pedro Cavadas, performed Spain’s first double-hand transplant in 2006.

That operation took place at the Hospital de la Fe in Valencia, where the leg transplant will also be carried out.

The announcement was made at an international conference in Madrid, called the “Last frontiers of transplant operations”.

The leg operation was approved in May by the ministry’s transplant commission.

Spain’s health minister, Leire Pajin, also announced the approval of Spain’s fourth face transplant at the conference.

This operation will also be carried out by Dr Cavadas, who is hailed in the Spanish media as a “miracle doctor”.

The world’s first full facial transplant was carried out in Spain earlier this year by a different surgeon, Joan Pere Barret.

“Transplants of hands, arms or faces from dead people were science fiction just a decade ago and today they are a splendid reality at our hospitals,” said the director of Spain’s National Organisation of Transplants, Rafael Matesanz, at the opening of the conference.

A spokeswoman quoted by the Agence France Press news agency said the leg transplant operation could take place in two or six months, depending on when a suitable donor was found.

• 1998 – the world’s first forearm transplant
• 2000 – first double-hand transplant
• 2002 – first womb transplant
• 2005 – first partial face transplant
• 2008 – first double-arm transplant
• 2010 – first full facial transplant

Source: BBC

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Officer for health promotion, Prof Mitch Blair, said: “We need to look seriously at how fast food is marketed at children and consider banning junk food prior to the 21:00 watershed, limiting the number of fast food outlets near schools, and making sure children are taught the importance of a healthy, balanced diet and how to cook nutritious meals from an early age at school.”

Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “These are very worrying findings that shed more light on a growing threat to the heart health of this nation.

“We know obese children are more likely to become obese adults who are then at greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke. We must encourage the next generation to make healthier lifestyle choices and help them eat a balanced diet and stay active.

“Ensuring children and teenagers are a healthy weight today means healthier hearts tomorrow.”

Source: BBC

Source: BBC