In a first, Brazilian woman with uterus transplanted from deceased donor gives birth

In a global first, a woman who received a transplanted uterus from a deceased donor welcomed a healthy baby girl last December, a team of Brazilian doctors revealed on Tuesday.

While 11 women with transplanted wombs from living donors have given birth, 10 earlier attempts using deceased donors all failed, The Associated Press reports. The mother, a 32-year-old psychologist, was born without a uterus. The donated womb came from a 45-year-old mother of three who died of a stroke. Seven months after the transplant, the psychologist went through in vitro fertilization and became pregnant. She gave birth via C-section, and doctors later removed the uterus so she could stop taking anti-rejection drugs.

Doctors from the University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine said the mother and baby remain healthy. They published their report in the medical journal The Lancet on Tuesday, and they plan on doing two more transplants for the study. "There are still lots of things we don't understand about pregnancies, like how embryos implant," study co-author Dr. Cesar Diaz told AP. "These transplants will help us understand implantation and every stage of pregnancy."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up