THE SCIENCE BEHIND ‘MIRACLE BABIES’ BORN OF UTERINE TRANSPLANTS

Uterine transplants are now being viewed as a fertility solution for women who are born without a uterus or women who have undergone a hysterectomy

- 

Major advances in reproductive medicine have enabled women to have successful pregnancies and deliver healthy babies by adopting either IVF (in vitro fertilisation), which began in the late 1970s or ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection ) in the early 1990s. No treatment is, however, available for women suffering from an absent or dysfunctional uterus, in terms of carrying a pregnancy. Approximately one in 500 women suffer from what is known as absolute uterine infertility, and the option so far, to become a mother has been to either adopt or utilise gestational surrogacy. Now however, there may be another option: uterine transplant surgery. A baby girl recently hit headlines, after becoming the first child in the U.K. to be born to a mother using a donated womb.

What is a uterine transplant?

A uterine transplant surgery can help women who do not have a uterus, to become pregnant and bear a child. A successful transplant can be a life-changing event for the woman who receives the uterus.