Baby born from donor womb

New life made possible by a uterine transplant

In a first for the U.S., doctors in Cleveland have delivered a healthy baby from a uterus transplanted into the mother from a deceased donor. Pioneered in Sweden, uterine transplants can allow women with uterine factor infertility (UFI) to give birth. Women with this condition are born without a uterus—like the unnamed new mom in Cleveland—or have suffered uterine damage from an infection or medical procedure or have had a hysterectomy. The baby girl in Cleveland, delivered via caesarean section in June, is only the second child born from a uterus transplanted from a dead donor. More than a dozen women have given birth following uterine transplants; all but one received the womb from a living donor, such as a friend or family member. Transplant recipients have to take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent their body from rejecting the uterus; if all goes well, they then try to conceive using in vitro fertilization. “This is still research,” Uma Perni from the Cleveland Clinic tells USA Today. “But it’s exciting to see what the options may be for women in the future.” ■

July 19, 2019 THE WEEK