US accident victim gets first double hand, face transplant

A 22-year-old man from New Jersey who suffered horrific injuries in a car accident has become the world's first person to undergo a successful face and double hand transplant, his medical team announced Wednesday. Joe DiMeo sustained third-degree burns on over 80 percent of his body when he fell asleep while driving home from a night shift in July 2018, causing his car to flip over and then explode. Though he was pulled to safety by a passerby, his injuries included amputated fingertips, severe facial scarring, and the loss of his lips and eyelids -- affecting his vision and ability to lead a normal, independent life. He remained in a hospital burn unit for four months, where he received numerous grafts and life-saving blood transfusions, and was placed in a medically induced coma for nearly two and a half months. But DiMeo said he now had a "second chance at life" and offered a message of hope.