First U.S. Baby Born From Deceased Donor’s Uterus Transplant, And We’re In Awe
So while the evening news may be full of stupid viral challenges and ridiculousness in politics, there’s some pretty amazing stuff going on in the world too! Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio have reported that a baby girl was born as the result of a uterine transplant. What makes this so amazing is that this is the first baby to be born in North America from a uterus donated by a deceased donor, and is part of a clinical trial where two more women with transplanted uteruses are waiting for embryo transfers of their own. The baby girl was born at the clinic in June via c-section, and her birth gives hope to women who suffer from uterine factor infertility (UFI). We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: science is freaking awesome!
New Hope For Women With UFI
The groundbreaking clinical trial involved 10 women who had uterine factor infertility, or UFI. They either had no uterus or had it removed and were unable to get pregnant. The study looked at whether a transplant from a deceased donor would let the women become pregnant (through in-vitro fertilization) and then to deliver a baby.
Dr. Uma Perni is the maternal-fetal medicine specialist who was in charge of the study. She said that they could not have asked for a better outcome than what they had. Everything with delivery went wonderfully and mama and her new baby girl are doing well.
The Difference Between Life And Death
To date, The Cleveland Clinic has completed five uterus transplants, three of which were successful, and one of which resulted in the live birth of the baby girl. Two more women are currently waiting to transfer embryos and hope to achieve pregnancy and the other two women ended up having hysterectomies.
Dr. Andreas Tzakis, a transplant surgeon, says that transferring a uterus into a woman is very complex and requires her immune system response to be suppressed. They hope their research helps make uterus transplants a more ordinary and accessible option for women who choose the treatment and recognize the generosity of the donor.
Traditionally for uterus transplants, a living donor has been selected. The first successful uterus transplant was in Sweden five years ago and since then, 12 women in the world have given birth as the result of a transplanted uterus. In December of 2017, Brazil claimed the world’s first birth from a deceased donor’s uterus, and now, this little girl has made history in the United States and North America.
One more time for those in the back: science is freaking awesome!
