Penis transplant recipient leaves hospital, can urinate normally but can’t have kids because male organ donation excludes testes

The penis transplant that Thomas Manning received is, so far, good only for urination. It would still be months before he could use it for sex, but even if he does, Manning would not be capable of siring a child.

That’s because the donated male organ – which comes from a deceased man – excludes the testes responsible for the production of semen. Manning, who left Massachusetts General Hospital on Wednesday, admits he had to wait for several days after the landmark surgery – the first in the US – before he could look at his new body part.

“It’s one of those things that, if you look at it, it doesn’t look too good,” CBS quotes the 65-year-old who still has stitches on his new manhood. Even after he has mustered the courage to see what his new penis looks like, Manning says confidence comes and goes.

He spent three weeks in the hospital after the 15-hour surgery. On Wednesday, he went back to his home in Halifax with his mother – who cooked spaghetti for dinner – and a family friend.

Manning’s penis was amputated in 2012 after he was diagnosed with penile cancer. He is a bachelor and has no kids.

From an anonymous cancer survivor, Manning has become famous because of the pioneering surgery expected to benefit soldiers whose genitals were destroyed by bombs. Now, his name is equated with the male genital since his name is number 2 on Google search if the word “penis” is typed.

A 21-year-old South African man was the first successful penis transplant in the world. However, unlike Manning, the unnamed man – whose penis was also amputated due to severe complications from a botched circumcision – was able to get his girlfriend pregnant.