Surgeons preparing to perform the first uterus transplant in the U.S.

Surgeons in an operating room.
(Image credit: iStock)

Surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic are hopeful that within a few months, they'll be able to successfully transplant a uterus into a woman who doesn't have one, but wants to get pregnant and give birth.

Women without a uterus or those who have a damaged organ can be considered for the surgery, The New York Times reports. Doctors will take the uterus, cervix, and part of the vagina out of a deceased donor, and will then connect the uterus to the recipient's vagina. She will be put on anti-rejection drugs, and after a year of healing, in vitro fertilization can start (because the transplanted uterus won't be connected to fallopian tubes, a natural pregnancy won't be able to take place). Once a woman becomes pregnant, she'll be considered high-risk, and the baby will have to be born via c-section before its due date in order to prevent the uterus from being strained during labor.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.