A SUCCESSFUL double hand transplant has taken place in Leeds hospital.

A 57-year-old Chris King from Doncaster received two donor hands after losing his own in an industrial accident three years ago.

However thanks to pioneering surgery, the first of its kind in the country, he is set to get back his independence.

Mr King has urged people to register as organ donors, he said: "Even if you don't have a card, just have the conversation with your family. "There's no greater gift."

Here are some of the incredible firsts in transplant surgery.

First head/body transplant

This highly controversial transplant is set to take place in 2017. Russian man Valery Spiridinov who suffers from the muscle wasting disease Werdnig Hoffman has agreed to have his head transplanted onto a donor body.

The surgery will be performed by Italian neuroscientist Dr Sergio Canavero.

The plans to perform this surgery have been widely criticised by the medical community, however Mr Spiridinov is determined to press ahead, he said: “If I have a chance of full body replacement I will get rid of the limits and be more independent."

The first heart transplant

In 1967 in South Africa a man, Lewis Washkansky who was dying of chronic heart disease received a heart from a donor, Denise Darvall after she died in a car accident.

The operation was successful, however due to the drugs used to suppress his immune system following the operation, he caught pneumonia and died 18 days later.

The first uterus transplant

A Turkish woman was the first recipient of a uterus from a deceased donor. Derya Sert, a 21-year-old woman born without a uterus underwent successful surgery in 2011, and became pregnant two years later.

The first face transplant

The successful transplant of a full face was carried out in 2010. A Spanish man who had lost his nose, teeth, cheekbones and facial muscles after a shooting accident had 22-hour surgery to give him a new face.

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