First Child Undergo Double-Hand Transplant

Zion Harvey underwent the complicated11-hour operation earlier this month, and on Tuesday he showed appreciation to all the doctors that helped.

An eight-year-old boy has spoken of his plans to throw a football, climb monkey bars and hold his baby sister - after becoming the first child in the world to receive a double-hand transplant.

A 40-person surgical team used steel screws and plates to fuse together Zion's old and new bones before delicately reconnecting his muscles, nerves, tendons, veins and arteries.

Although he has several weeks of physical therapy ahead - he will soon have the fine dexterity to pick up "smaller objects like Cheerios and Legos".

An active young boy, Zion's hands and feet had to be amputated when he was a toddler, after he contracted a serious bacterial infection.

But with the help of prosthetic legs, the schoolboy is able to walk, run and jump like his friends.

He has also learned how to write using his forearms, and was already able to feed himself and play video games before his transplant at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Zion will need to take drugs which suppress the immune system for the rest of his life - ensuring that the body does not reject his new limbs.