The first baby delivered from the uterus of the deceased donor is doing well, and the mother is too. They are both “doing great,” as the Cleveland Clinic reports on the baby girl and her mom. The Clinic has monitored their conditions since the uterine transplant to the healthy cesarean delivery this June.
The first such transplantation was executed in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2016, followed by pregnancy and delivery of a healthy girl at the end of 2017. The second transplantation was the first in the United States and was performed at the end of 2017. The woman, remaining anonymous but reported to be in her mid-thirties, conceived through fertilization in vitro.
The first successful birth following the transplantation from a living donor happened in Sweden, in 2014. To this day, ten more such babies have been brought to the world. However, the number of potential live uterine donors cannot match the number of womb transplantations needed. For this reason, the research has been taking place for several years in several countries (the Czech Republic and Turkey). That is why the successful transplant from a deceased donor and child’s delivery is a real breakthrough.
The whole process in the Cleveland Clinic, from the transplantation to delivery, was a part of broader research. It included four more operations, three of which proved to be successful.
After this remarkable success, the team, led by Dr. Andreas Tzakis and Dr. Rebecca Flyckt, is planning to expand the research into the new trial, including ten women between 21 and 39. The two of the candidates have already passed through successful transplants.