The plastic surgeon behind Australia's first double hand transplant says he is optimistic a donor can be found for 64-year-old Peter Walsh.
The former plumber from the Victorian town of Cobden had his hands and feet amputated three years ago after contracting pneumococcal disease.
The father of five and grandfather of 16 said on Wednesday he yearned to hold his grandchildren.
St Vincent's Hospital plastic surgeon Professor Wayne Morrison said his opposition to limb transplants changed after he met Mr Walsh.
"He was a person who has previously been extremely well and physically active (and) is now absolutely confined to a life of total dependency where he can't eat, can't feed himself, can't dress himself, can't go to the toilet, can't change his shoes, can't pick up the telephone," Prof Walsh told AAP.
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"This is a huge alteration of his lifestyle.
"He's become a recluse in a sense."
Prof Morrison said it would be a challenge for donor agencies to find a willing donor, as Australians were familiar with donating organs, not limbs.
But he was optimistic a donor would be found.
The O'Brien Institute, the microsurgery research centre of which Prof Morrison is director, is preparing for the potential transplant procedure alongside St Vincent's Hospital's plastic and hand surgery unit.
Prof Morrison said it was likely such a transplant had not taken place in Australia before because the risks of lethal side effects from anti-rejection drugs outweighed the benefits of the procedure.
Unlike organ transplants, which are often a matter of life or death for patients, limb transplants are less common because the condition is not life threatening.
Anti-rejection drugs that need to be taken for the remainder of a patient's life come with the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and cancer, Prof Morrison said.
But he said Mr Walsh's case was unique.
"He's different in that's he's lost both hands, both feet.
"Even if he only has one hand transplanted that's going to be an enormous functional benefit to him."
Mr Walsh said on Wednesday that he missed working and picking up his grandchildren.
"You'd love to be able to pick 'em up and do that, but I can't," he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
He said his family, including two daughters and three sons, were supportive of the operation.
He said while his condition was not life threatening, the operation would improve his quality of life.
Mr Walsh has not yet decided whether to have a single or double hand transplant.
Prof Morrison said about 50 dual hand transplants had been performed over the past decade in Europe and the United States, with excellent results.
"Certainly there have been spectacular results overseas of bilateral hand transplants.
"Once you see those you say 'gee, we shouldn't be denying people this opportunity'."
