UK records first-ever womb transplant from sister to sister
Story from Christine TOBECHUKWU, Abuja
The United Kingdom has achieved a medical milestone as doctors successfully performed the nation’s first-ever womb transplant at Oxford’s Churchill Hospital.
The intricate procedure to remove the donor’s womb took over eight hours, while the subsequent implantation surgery lasted for nine hours and twenty minutes.
The recipient of this groundbreaking womb transplant is a 34-year-old woman, and remarkably, the donor of the uterus is her 40-year-old sister. Both individuals have chosen to remain anonymous, as reported by local media.
The surgical team responsible for this historic operation has reported that both sisters have recovered remarkably well from the surgery.
Furthermore, the 34-year-old recipient, along with her husband, now holds several embryos in storage, eagerly awaiting their transfer.
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Lead surgeon Richard Smith, reflecting on this incredible achievement, stated, “It was incredible. I think it was probably the most stressful week in my surgical career but also unbelievably positive. The donor and recipient are over the moon, just over the moon.”
Professor Richard Smith, a gynecological surgeon who has dedicated 25 years to researching womb transplantation, expressed his jubilation, describing it as a “massive success” and admitting that the entire team was moved emotionally, saying, “I think we were all a bit tearful afterward.”
Isabel Quiroga, the transplant surgeon who led the team in implanting the womb, shared the recipient’s joy, stating, “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 closely.”
The recipient of the womb transplant had been born with a rare condition known as Type 1 Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH), which resulted in the absence or underdevelopment of her uterus.
However, her ovaries remained functional. Prior to the surgery, she had undergone fertility treatment with her husband, resulting in eight embryos stored for future use. Her generous donor, her 40-year-old sister, had already given birth to two children.
Before undergoing the transplant, both sisters received counseling, and their case was thoroughly reviewed and approved by the Human Tissue Authority.
The estimated NHS costs, totaling £25,000, were covered by the charity Womb Transplant UK. Over 30 medical staff involved in the procedure generously volunteered their time.
Professor Smith, who chairs Womb Transplant UK, revealed that the team had received authorization for a total of 15 transplants, comprising five with live donors and ten with deceased, brain-dead donors. However, they required an additional £300,000 to fund all these procedures.
He emphasized, “The shocking truth is that there are currently more than 15,000 women of child-bearing age in this country who have Absolute Uterine Factor Infertility. They were either born without a womb or have had a hysterectomy due to cancer or other abnormalities of the womb.”
The first successful womb transplant leading to childbirth occurred in Sweden in 2014 when a woman received a donated womb from a friend in her 60s.
Since then, over 100 womb transplants have taken place worldwide, resulting in around 50 babies, primarily in the US and Sweden, but also in Turkey, India, Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, and France.
In the UK, surgeons gained permission to perform womb transplants in 2015. Institutional delays and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the delay in conducting the first operation, according to a report published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Womb Transplant UK disclosed that more than 500 women had reached out to the charity expressing their desire to participate in the program. Approximately a dozen of them had embryos in storage or were undergoing fertility treatment, prerequisites for joining the waiting list.
Among these women is 31-year-old Lydia Brain, who required a hysterectomy following a womb cancer diagnosis at the age of 24. Her journey, involving £15,000 in fertility treatments and several embryos now in storage, exemplifies the hope and possibilities that womb transplantation offers to countless women facing similar challenges.