First baby born in US after uterus transplant at Dallas hospital
dallas — The first birth as a result of a womb transplant in the United States has occurred in Texas, a milestone for the US but one achieved several years ago in Sweden.
A woman who had been born without a uterus gave birth to the baby at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
Hospital spokesman Craig Civale confirmed that the birth had taken place, but said no other details are available. The hospital did not identify the woman, citing her privacy.
Baylor has had a study underway for several years to enroll up to 10 women for uterus transplants. In October 2016, the hospital said four women had received transplants but that three of the wombs had to be removed because of poor blood flow.
The hospital would give no further information on how many transplants have been performed since then. But Time magazine, which first reported the US baby’s birth, says eight have been done in all, and that another woman is currently pregnant as a result.
A doctor in Sweden, Mats Brannstrom, is the first in the world to deliver a baby as a result of a uterus transplant. As of last year, he had delivered five babies from women with donated wombs.
There have been at least 16 uterus transplants worldwide, including one in Cleveland from a deceased donor that had to be removed because of complications. Last month, Penn Medicine in Philadelphia announced that it also would start offering womb transplants. Womb donors can be dead or alive. The first four cases involved “altruistic” donors — unrelated and unknown to the recipients. The ones done in Sweden were from live donors, mostly from the recipients’ mother or a sister. Doctors hope transplants but that three of the wombs had to be removed because of poor blood flow. > The first such baby was delivered by a doctor in Sweden. > As of last year, he had delivered five babies from women with donated wombs. that womb transplants will enable as many as several thousand women born without a uterus to bear children. To be eligible for the Baylor study, women must be 20 to 35 years old and have healthy, normal ovaries. They will first have in vitro fertilisation to retrieve and fertilise their eggs. —
Procedure called a milestone for the US