A black man in South Africa who had the world's third successful penis transplant operation, opted to tattoo his new organ because the donor was white.

After losing his penis during a botched circumcision procedure, the 40-year-old patient had to undergo a transplant surgery to get a new penis.

Within the next six months, he will be able to have sex and urinate standing up for the first time in 17 years.

"The patient is black and the donor was white. We have very few donors for this transplant procedure. But that is the only issue left," Professor Andre van der Merwe from Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town said in a recent interview.

"He is certainly one of the happiest patients we have seen in our ward. The penis is working well, he can get erections already."

Team member Dr. Alexander Zuhlke explained the tattooing can be applied in the case of penis transplants — just like it is for nipples after a mastectomy, for instance.

But it should be performed by a tattooist specializing in medical tattooing and will require multiple visits.

"A color discrepancy between the recipient and the donor organ will be corrected with medical tattooing between six to eight months after the operation," the doctors said in a recent release.

The 40-year-old man is the third person to receive a penis transplant, in a surgery that took over nine hours.

"The first time he saw his penis, he was quite emotional and he couldn't believe that after 17 years he has a penis again," Prof. Andre van der Merwe said.