It’s the first time in medical history that a woman had given birth after receiving a uterus transplant from a deceased donor. Before that uterus transplants from living donors had led to successful births. The whole field of uterus transplantation is relatively new. After this a new researcher has been stated correct that if transplant teams can reliably use uteruses from deceased donors, it could expand the availability of organs and reduce living donors’ risks during surgery to remove the uterus.
It was an exciting moment for Dr. Rebecca Flyckt, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic, who although was not involved in the research but supports this idea whole-heartedly. As per the recent case report, published in the Lancet, researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil removed a uterus from a 45-year-old woman who died from a brain hemorrhage. She had three children. The organ was transplanted into a 32-year-old woman who had a disorder because of which she was left without a uterus. Seven months after the transplant, doctors transferred an embryo made through in-vitro fertilization from the lady’s egg and her husband’s sperm into her womb.
The woman’s pregnancy turned out to be normal. The doctors had performed a Caesarean section on Dec. 15, 2017, after about 36 weeks from the transplant and IVF . When the researchers wrote the paper describing the case both mom and the baby girl were healthy. This was after 7 months from the delivery.
Dr. Dani Ejzenberg, who led the research, felt that the use of deceased donors could greatly broaden access to that kind of a treatment treatment, and also that the numbers of people willing and committed to donate organs upon their own deaths were far larger than those of live donors, offering a much wider potential donor population.
Experts hoped that uterus transplants would someday be more widely available for women without uteruses or with damaged organs, wishing to become pregnant. In Sweden in 2014, doctors for the first time assisted a woman with a transplanted uterus in giving birth since then, there have been many such infants born around the globe.
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Uterine transplantation is a fairly new procedure, but it is possible and in practice. This complex procedure involves transplanting the uterus along with the supporting blood vessels and ligaments from the donor to the receiver. It can help women struggling with Absolute Uterine Factor Infertility (AUFI).
Uterine transplantation is a complex procedure that carries the risk of organ rejection, excess bleeding, infections, damage to the nerves, or injury to the surrounding organs. Pregnancy after a uterine transplantation has higher risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery, preeclampsia, etc.
Yes, a successful uterine transplantation will stimulate the menstrual period in a few months post-surgery. The return of the period is proof of a successful transplantation. It indicates that the body has accepted the organ, the blood supply is adequate, and the organ has started functioning properly.
A uterine transplant can fail like any organ transplant due to vascular complications, organ rejection, infections, or inadequate blood supply. Complications during the surgery, like size mismatch or damage caused during the transplant, can also fail the procedure.
