A 54-year old man who lost both arms in a farming accident six years ago was given the arms of a 19-year-old who is thought to have died in a car crash.

According to new-medical.net, even though the surgery was completed, doctors cannot say whether it was a success yet, as they must wait to see whether the 54-year-old's body will reject the new limbs. According to the news source, in the cases of limb transplants, which are uncommon, the skin works as a immune barrier, instinctively rejecting skin that it does not recognize as its own.

To combat this certain rejection, recipients of limb transplants must take medication for the rest of their lives. For the next five weeks, the patient will remain hospitalized for observation and intensive therapy.

The 54-year-old may not develop feeling in his fingers for as much as two years, as the nerves will need to re-grow.

The 30 surgeons made up five teams, with two teams each amputating one of the donor's arms, two more preparing the limb recipient, and another to remove veins that were to be fused with the patients to ensure proper blood flow.