Taiwan-born physician Andrew Lee (李為平) is scheduled to head a three-man team at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, that is to conduct the first penile transplant surgeries in the US for soldiers wounded in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has given permission for the team to conduct experimental surgery on 60 veterans within the year, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Monday.
Lee, chairman of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Johns Hopkins, immigrated with his family to the US when he was 15 years old.
He established his authority in limb transplants in 2013 after surgically transplanting two arms for a veteran who had been wounded in the second Iraq War.
The proposed 60 surgeries are to be restricted to men who have suffered genitourinary injuries in combat, the hospital said.
The school will monitor the results and decide whether the operation procedures could become standard for such surgeries in the future, the NYT said.
The transplant should, over a matter of months, restore urinary function, sensation and even the ability to have sex, the university said.
Lee said it was a “realistic goal” for those who had undergone the transplant to father children, with the newspaper reporting that it would be their own sperm and not that of the donors, provided the recipient’s testes were intact prior to the surgery.
Jeffrey Kahn, a bioethicist at Johns Hopkins, said it was essential for families of organ donors to be asked for specific permission.
“It is not assumed that people willing to donate kidneys or livers will also consent to having their loved one’s genitals removed,” the NYT quoted Kahn saying, adding the surgeons want a relatively young donor to increase the odds that the transplanted organ will function sexually.
Medical journal data show only two reports of penis transplants: one in China in 2006, which was not successful, and one in South Africa last year, which was.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious