The world's first bilateral hand transplant has been carried out on an eight-year-old boy in the US.

Zion Harvey had to have his two hands and two feet amputated at the age of two years after developing the life-threatening infection, sepsis. The infection also damaged his kidneys and two years later, he had a kidney transplant after his mother donated her kidney to him.

Now surgeons at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have confirmed that Zion has successfully undergone a bilateral hand transplant, resulting in the young boy now having two hands for the first time since he was a toddler.

A 40-member team took 10 hours to complete the surgery.

"This surgery was the result of years of training, followed by months of planning and preparation by a remarkable team. CHOP is one of the few places in the world that offer the capabilities necessary to push the limits of medicine to give a child a drastically improved quality of life," commented the lead physician and director of CHOP's Hand Tranplantation Program, Dr L. Scott Levin.

The hospital described Zion as a ‘bright and precocious eight-year-old who has told his doctors that he cannot wait to some day throw a football'.

It said that he has adapted to life well without hands and has learned to eat, write and even play video games. He has also received prosthetics for his feet and is able to walk, run and jump.

"Following his latest surgery and after his upcoming rehabilitation, it is expected that Zion will finally get his wish to throw a football along with a myriad of other accomplishments to come," the hospital noted.

It explained that this was a complex procedure that involved extensive medical screening and evaluations before the surgery, however Zion's previous medical condition was factored in.

"Zion's kidney transplant following his infection made him a candidate for transplant because he was already taking anti-rejection medication," explained Dr Benjamin Chang, co-director of CHOP's Hand Transplantation Program.

Zion is still receiving immunosuppressant medications every day to prevent his body from rejecting the new limbs, as well as his transplanted kidney.

He is currently undergoing intense hand therapy several times a day, but he is expected to be discharged to his home in Baltimore in several weeks.