For the first time in the United States and the second time worldwide, a healthy baby girl has been born from a transplanted uterus. That uterus was transplanted from a deceased donor according to People.
It happened in June at the Cleveland clinic when the child was born through cesarean section. Mother and daughter are healthy and doing well according to the hospital.
The transplant took place in 2017. After receiving the uterus from a deceased donor, the mother, who is in her mid-30s, got pregnant through IVF in 2018.
A Cleveland clinic maternal-fetal medicine specialist, Uma Perni, M.D. said that doctors “couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”
“Everything went wonderfully with the delivery; the mother and baby girl are doing great,” she said. “It’s important to remember this is still research. The field of uterus transplantation is rapidly evolving, and it’s exciting to see what the options may be for women in the future.”
“It was amazing how perfectly normal this delivery was, considering how extraordinary the occasion,” added Cleveland Clinic transplant surgeon Andreas Tzakis, M.D., PhD. “Through this research, we aim to make these extraordinary events, ordinary for the women who choose this option. We are grateful to the donor and her family, their generosity allowed our patient’s dream to come true and a new baby to be born.”
The transplant was part of the Uterine Transplantation for the Treatment of Uterine Factor Infertility, an ongoing clinical trial taking place at the Cleveland Clinic.
The Cleveland Clinic said the trial aims to offer hope to many women who are unable to conceive. 10 women between the ages of 21-39 are being asked to enroll in the trial. The trial uses deceased donors for the transplanted uterus to eliminate the risk to a living, healthy donor.
“Medicine is constantly evolving,” said Tommaso Falcone, M.D., Cleveland Clinic professor of obstetrics and gynecology and former institute chair.
He added: “I am honored to be part of a team that is dedicated to outstanding patient care and moving medicine forward. This clinical trial reflects the Cleveland Clinic tradition of innovation in clinical medicine. The teamwork it took to make this happen for our patient was remarkable, I am so proud.”
Five transplants have taken place under this trial since the Cleveland clinic started it. Three of the transplants resulted in success but the other two had to be removed with a hysterectomy. Two out of the three women with the successful transplants are awaiting embryo transfers and other candidates are in line for the transplant.
