Thomas Manning, 64, became the first man in the U.S. yesterday to have a penis transplant. The surgery took place at Mass General Hospital, where Manning is now recovering. Doctors say he will be released within the week. 

Manning's penis was amputated four years ago to stop a rare form of cancer spreading to the rest of his body. His surgery is a stepping stone for more complicated surgeries in the future that will be able to treat veteran and terror victims with more severe injuries. 

"It is a little different than what people are hoping for down that road to help people who've been injured in war or injured in terror," said medical ethicist Art Caplan on Boston Public Radio Tuesday. Caplan emphasised the fact that while the success of the surgery is important, there is still a long way to go before people with severely mutilated genitals will be receiving transplants.

"He had cancer and lost part of his penis and then a donor penis was attached to it. It was just the cylinder," he said.

This transplant in addition to the recent face and uterus transplants may affect people's decision to become donors and the laws pertaining to donors, says Caplan. "These are new forms of transplants just coming now and the law, in some ways, hasn't caught up," says Caplan. "I am a little nervous that people might say, 'I am going to tear up my donor card if you're going to start using my face, or my penis, or my uterus, or things like that," he said.

You can listen to the entire interview with medical ethicist Art Caplan above.