A central Chinese hospital saved a man's severed hand by grafting it onto his ankle, the man and the hospital said on Tuesday (December 17).

Twenty-five-year-old Xie Wei from Hunan province lost his right hand in a heavy machinery accident in the factory where he works in early November.

He came to the Xiangya Hospital in the provincial capital, Changsha, seven hours later.

According to a statement by the hospital, at room temperature, the tissue of the hand would have died within around ten hours.

Transplanting it onto blood vessels on Xie's own body was the best way to save it, and also prevented further blood loss from the injured arm, the statement said.

Thirty-five days later, on December 4, the hand was transplanted back form the ankle to Xie's arm, photographs provided by the hospital show.

In a brief telephone interview from the hospital on Tuesday, Xie told Reuters he would never have believed the hand could have been saved.

Xie said i