A Manchester man who was born without a penis will be able to lose his virginity at the age of 44 after doctors managed to give him a bionic penis.
Andrew Wardle was born with a condition called bladder exstrophy, which caused his reproductive organs to grow on the outside of his body. It affects just one in 20 million men.
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He has undergone four years' worth of surgery to fit him with a bionic penis made from skin taken from his arm, which can be inflated to form a penis.
It will cause him to have an erection for nearly two weeks until it is deflated and then, a further six weeks after that, he will finally be able to have sex for the first time.
"I'm very excited that I can move on now. But I think having sex for the first time is more of a big deal for everyone else than it is for me," Andrew told the Daily Mail.
"I've spent 44 years without a penis and I've coped with not having sex for all that time. It will take me a while to get in the swing of things.
"Of course, I'm looking forward to it. But, for me, it's not the be-all-and-end-all. It's a by-product of the operation. It will enable me to feel part of society."
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Andrew has a long-term girlfriend, Fedra Fabian, and will finally be able to perform after years of inactivity.
"I'm feeling good because they've given me painkillers but I'm sure I will feel a bit sore later on. I do feel different," he said.
"I'm very aware there's some robotics inside me but it feels a part of me now. I'm very aware that I am half-human, half-robot at the moment. I'm like the bionic man. I will even be able to perform if I am drunk."
He had struggled with mental health problems related to his physical condition until he was saved by the intervention of a doctor who told him that his condition could be fixed.
"My GP knew about my depression and suicide attempts. She told me: 'You can't live like this'," explained Andrew.
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"I thought: 'I've heard all this before', but she actually got in touch with Mr Wood and said: 'I've got a guy who wants to meet you'."
"I went down to London and I was so skint I had to sleep on the streets. But it was worth it."
"Until then everybody had said: 'I can't do anything'. But he said: 'I can build you a new bladder and my friend can build you a penis'.
"It took me the whole journey home to understand what he meant. I thought: 'I've been in every hospital in the country and they've never said this before'."
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The whole operation has cost £50,000 [$66,200] on the NHS.
Featured Image Credit: DiscoveryTopics: Science, UK News, Manchester, Health