Penis transplants are no laughing matter. So reserve your sniggers for later. You'd think such an important operation would have been successfully carried out a long time ago. But no. "This is a very serious situation. For a young man of 18 or 19 years the loss of his penis can be deeply traumatic," Andre van der Merwe, head of the university's urology unit and who led the operation said in a statement, The Times of India reports. Non-sterilised circumcision is a cause for worry in many parts of Africa and elsewhere. "There is a greater need in South Africa for this type of procedure than elsewhere in the world, as many young men lose their penises every year due to complications from traditional circumcision," he added. Some have even lost their lives.