December 5, 2018 A woman born without a uterus has become the first person to give birth to a live baby thanks […]
December 5, 2018
A woman born without a uterus has become the first person to give birth to a live baby thanks to a womb transplanted from a deceased donor.
An unnamed 32-year-old woman, who was born without a uterus, received the womb of a 45-year-old donor in September 2016, during an operation at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
The donor died of a brain hemorrhage caused by a stroke. In life, she had given birth to three children, according to a case study published in the latest edition of The Lancet journal.
In a 10-hour operation, surgeons linked the donor’s uterus to the woman’s arteries, veins, ligaments and vaginal canal. Four months prior to the operation, the recipient had one IVF cycle, providing her with eight fertilized eggs which were then frozen.
Doctors implanted the fertilized eggs seven months after the procedure. Ten days later, the woman was pregnant, and gave birth to a healthy baby daughter via C-section in December 2017.
The success could greatly expand the number of women with uterine infertility who have previously only had the option of adoption or surrogacy to become mothers.
Dr Dani Ejzenberg, from Hospital das Clínicas at the University of São Paulo, who led the research said their study, published in The Lancet, provides “proof of concept” that many more women could benefit.