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- A woman in Brazil who received a womb transplant from a deceased donor has given birth to a baby girl in the first successful case of its kind.
Facts
- The surgery took place in September 2016. The recipient of the uterus was a 32 year-old woman born without a uterus as a result of Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome.
- She had one invitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle four months before transplant, resulting in eight fertilised eggs which were cryopreserved.
- The donor was 45 years old and died of subarachnoid haemorrhage — a type of stroke involving bleeding on the surface of the brain.
- The uterus was removed from the donor and then transplanted into the recipient in surgery lasting 10.5 hours.
- The surgery involved connecting the donor uterus’ and recipient’s veins and arteries, ligaments, and vaginal canals.
- She received five immunosuppression drugs, as well as antimicrobials, anti-blood clotting treatment and aspirin while in hospital.
- Five months after transplantation, the uterus showed no signs of rejection, ultrasound scans showed no anomalies, and the recipient was having regular menstruation.
- The fertilised eggs were implanted after seven months.
- Ten days after implantation, the recipient was confirmed to be pregnant.
- The baby girl was born via caesarean section at 35 weeks and three days.
- The transplanted uterus was removed during the caesarean section and showed no anomalies.
Infertility
- Infertility affects around 10 to 15 percent of couples of reproductive age worldwide. Of this group, around one in 500 women have uterine problems for example, to a malformation, hysterectomy, or infection — that prevent them from becoming pregnant and carrying a child to term.
Uses
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- Uterus transplants from deceased donors are feasible and may open access for all women with uterine infertility, without the need for live donors.
- There have been 39 womb transplants using a live donor, including mothers donating their womb to their daughter, resulting in 11 babies.
- But the 10 previous transplants from a dead donor have failed or resulted in miscarriage.
- Currently, uterus donation is only available for women with family members who are willing to donate.
- It comes after 10 previously known cases of uterus transplants from deceased donors — in the United States, the Czech Republic and Turkey — failed to produce a live birth
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