Surgeons carry out first womb transplant in UK

Surgeons in Oxford have recorded the first successful womb transplant in the United Kingdom (UK).

The recipient was a 34-year-old woman while the donor was her 40-year-old sister who already had two children and had completed her family.

According to BBC, the procedure was carried out by over 30 medical personnel at Churchill Hospital, Oxford in February and took around 17 hours.

The recipient of the womb was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition where the uterus is absent or underdeveloped but has functioning ovaries.

The woman was said to have had her first period two weeks after the surgery but will have to take immunosuppressant drugs to ensure her body does not reject the implant.

She stored eight of her embryos before the surgery with the goal of undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments later in the year.

Since the womb transplant carries some long-term health risks, the uterus will be removed after a maximum of two pregnancies.

Richard Smith, a gynaecological surgeon, who led the organ retrieval team, said the operation was a “massive success”.

“The whole thing was emotional. I think we were all a bit tearful afterwards,” he added.

Also, Isabel Quiroga, a transplant surgeon, the team lead that implanted the womb, said the recipient was delighted to be able to carry a child.

“She was absolutely over the moon, very happy, and is hoping that she can go on to have not one but two babies. Her womb is functioning perfectly and we are monitoring her progress very closely,” she said.

In 2014, a woman in Sweden became the first to have a baby as a result of a womb transplant from a friend in her 60s.

Since then, there have been several womb transplants in countries like the US, Sweden, Turkey, India, Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, Germany and France.