Surgeons in the United Kingdom have completed the first womb transplant on a woman, allowing dozens more infertile women to bear babies.
each year. The woman’s sister was a living womb donor.
According to the medical team behind the groundbreaking technique, the 34-year-old was “incredibly happy” and “over the moon” with the result of the nine-hour operation. The woman’s sister was a living womb donor.
The recipient was born with an uncommon disease known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH), in which the uterus is missing or undeveloped but the ovaries function normally. It is an uncommon disease that affects one in every 5,000 women.
The uterus will be removed after a maximum of two pregnancies due to the long-term health hazards associated with the immunosuppressive medications used to avoid tissue rejection.
The organisation Womb Transplant UK covered the cost of the procedure. Since 2015, doctors in the UK have been authorized to undertake womb transplants.
Globally, over 90 womb transplants have been performed, including in Sweden, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, China, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Germany, Serbia, and India, with the majority involving a living donor. As a result, 50 infants have been born.
This fall, a second womb transplant in the UK is planned for a different woman, with other patients in the planning phases. Ten operations employing brain-dead donors and five using living donors have received the clearance of the surgeons.
