Could This Be the World’s First Successful Womb Transplant?

Swedish scientists believe that they’ve perfected a method to transplant a mother’s uterus into her daughter’s body and hope to have the procedure underway as early as next spring.

A UK woman, Eva Ottosson, 56, plans on donating her uterus to her 25-year-old daughter who was born with a rare condition known as Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser (MRKH) syndrome causing her to be born without a uterus. If the procedure works, the daughter Sara (who lives in Stockholm) will have her own eggs fertilized with her boyfriend’s sperm and then implanted into her new womb.

Eleven years ago doctors in Saudi Arabia attempted a similar womb transplant but the recipient developed problems and the womb had to be taken out less than 100 days later. All things considered however, doctors are still hopeful that finally the technology has progressed to a point in which such a procedure is possible.

Of the surgery, Dr Mats Brannstrom, leader of the medical team, said “Technically it is lot more difficult than transplanting a kidney, liver or heart. The difficulty with it is avoiding hemorrhage and making sure you have long enough blood vessels to connect the womb.

“You are also working deep down in the pelvis area and it is like working in a funnel. It is not like working with a kidney, which is really accessible.”

Meanwhile, Sara remains unbothered by the idea of giving birth out of the same womb she herself was created in. “I haven’t really thought about that. I’m a biology teacher and it’s just an organ like any other organ. But my mum did ask me about this. She said ‘isn’t it weird?’ And my answer is no. I’m more worried that my mum is going to have a big operation.”

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