Surgeons have been granted approval to carry out groundbreaking womb transplants in the UK for the first time.
Ten women without wombs will be given the chance to carry their own children after NHS ethics regulators approved the trial.
If successful, the first British baby born as a result of a transplant could be delivered as soon as 2017 or early 2018, The Guardian reports.
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Around one in 5,000 women is born without a womb. Many more lose their wombs to cervical cancer which means that their only option for having a family is surrogacy or adoption.
"For many couples, childlessness is a disaster," said Dr Richard Smith. "Surrogacy is an option but it does not answer the deep desire that women have to carry their own baby."
How will the surgery work?
The women who will be selected must meet certain criteria, including being 38 years old or under, having a healthy weight and having a long-term partner.
The women will undergo a six-hour operation to receive a womb from a donor who has been classed as brain dead but has been kept alive. They will then be kept on immunosuppressant drugs for 12 months before being implanted with an embryo created with their eggs and their partner's sperm.
If successful, the baby would be delivered via Caesarean section to protect the womb from the trauma of labour. Six months later, the woman would be given the option to try for another child, or have the womb removed.
The decision follows a successful trial in Sweden, where a woman became the first person in the world to give birth to a baby after having a womb transplant. "As soon as I felt this perfect baby boy on my chest, I had tears of happiness and enormous relief," said the mother.
Allan Pacey, former chairman of the British Fertility Society, told The Times that the surgery "could be a game changer" for women. He acknowledged that some may be nervous of the technique but "in less than ten years we're going to wonder what the fuss was about."
