Doctors have performed the first womb transplant surgery in the United Kingdom, opening up the potential for infertile women to have babies. In a nine-hour-long operation, a 34-year-old married woman underwent a womb transplant from her sister. According to the medical team, the recipient plans to have two children through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
She expressed her immense happiness and excitement over the success of the operation. The Oxford Transplant Centre did not identify the sisters involved in the transplant.
The recipient had a rare medical condition that led to an underdeveloped womb. Her 40-year-old sister, who already has two children, generously donated her womb for the procedure. The recipient’s womb functions properly, and medical professionals are closely monitoring her progress.
The doctors will perform another transplant in the autumn and more patients are currently in the preparation phase. A total of 10 operations involving brain-dead donors have been approved for surgeons, along with five procedures using living donors.
Co-lead surgeon Prof Richard Smith, clinical lead at the charity Womb Transplant UK and consultant gynecological surgeon at Imperial College London, described the surgery as a “massive success.” He noted that the procedure had an incredibly positive outcome, and both the donor and the recipient were elated about it.
The women who received the transplanted wombs were born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster Hauser Syndrome (MRKH). It is a rare congenital disorder affecting the female reproductive system, occurring in approximately one out of every 5,000 women.
Before the womb transplant, the recipient underwent two rounds of fertility stimulation to produce eggs. Afterward, they performed intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to create embryos.
Womb transplants offer hope for women born without functional wombs. It also ignites hope for those who lose their organs due to cancer or other medical conditions.
