Kim Smith, 61, has been waiting for a double hand transplant in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, for six years. She lost all four limbs after sepsis damaged the tissues in her body.
When a compatible donor finally appeared, she said no. The hands belonged to a man and a woman of African descent, and Kim only accepts hands from white women.
Doctors warned her that this requirement could further lengthen her wait, but she insisted: she wants small hands, like the ones she had before the amputations, and with a skin tone similar to her own.
The surgeon in charge argued that psychological rejection of a graft is real and can cause the transplant to fail. But the phrase she herself uttered—that she is not prejudiced, just white—continues to spark debate.
Meanwhile, Kim remains on the waiting list for her right hand, since in 2025 she managed to receive a transplant matching the color of her skin for her left hand.
