Do you think that soldier is rich and privileged? take off your arms and legs after fighting for your country and tell me how privileged you feel, The transplant technology is getting better all the time and i don't know about america,i know cost comes into it,but that has been america's way with health care since their system was set up, a friend of mine lives in america with her husband, he has basic health insurance and has prostate cancer,he has been told that his health plan only allows for 1 lot of chemotherapy,they are trying to come back to britain where he will get as many courses of chemo that he needs,he paid all his national insurance here till he retired.

I don't think calling Sgt. Morrocco privileged is very nice. He lost both legs as well & some facial injuries in the Iranian built bomb.

There are apparently 6 more injured servicemen with both arms amputated who could be the next bunch of "privilieged" people to try the procedure.

To have the procedure you would have to have a donor whose blood type & physical stature would be similar. On Morrocco's case they injected some stem cells fro the donor's spine to try and fool Morrocco's body from rejecting it.

Perhaps next will be legs being reattached.

All of that stuff would be easier with stem cell research & of course donors willing to donate posthumously parts of their bodies.

Not all patients are suitable for transplantion.

But I see nothing wrong in a country paying out for an operation which will help someone live a relatively normal life after such terrible injury. I wish him well.

In most countries in the western world, a patient would receive state assistance to cope with such disability. For most a synthetic/prosthetic limb would be more appropriate.

SOMEday (maybe 10 or 15 years from Now) it'll probably be almost as Common as Heart Transplants Are- Today ! But LIKE Heart Transplants, -it will Never be Cheap... :(

An enlisted person in the military who had both arms and legs blown off is not rich or privileged. More money for welfare queens, but you would deny this guy arms?

Sorry I find the tone of your question rather offencive this operation achievement was fantastic,this patient was terribly injured after fighting for his country,if your question is referring to him being privileged I am appalled.let us hope the pioneering work done by these very skillful surgeons leads the way for other successes

He had his arm's blown off in a war and you count him as a wealthy, rich bast*rd?

Fu*kin' knobhead.

Just those wealthy rich pigs as the family of a dead person would hardly let you cut there arms off for free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOblRodelzY - Former US soldier gets arm transplant

apparentley its the first of its kind, he has real brand new arms, nothing artificial, he originally had his arms, legs blown off at war in iraq.

but if this has happened, will everyone worldwide who is disabled, disfigured arms, missing hands etc will be able to get these transplants ?

or just those very privaliged and wealthy ? just those wealthy, rich bstrds.