Surgeons successfully perform UK's 1st womb transplant

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - In a groundbreaking medical milestone, a surgical team in Oxford has successfully performed UK's first womb transplant on Wednesday.

This procedure offers a glimmer of hope to women who, like the patient in this case, were born without a functioning womb, granting them the possibility of experiencing pregnancy and childbirth.

According to a statement by Oxford University Hospitals, both a 34-year-old woman recipient and the donor, her sister, have emerged from the procedure in good health.

The recipient now intends to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) later this autumn, utilizing embryos stored with her husband.

The surgical team behind this historic operation was co-led by highly skilled surgeons from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust.

"This is a first for the UK, following over 25 years of research, and is only possible thanks to the recipient's sister who came forward and was willing to donate," said Professor Richard Smith, who is also the founder and chair of the charity Womb Transplant UK.

"It is still very early days but, if all continues to go well, we hope the recipient will continue to progress, and be in a position to have a baby in the coming years. We are grateful to the charity Womb Transplant UK for funding the transplant and to our highly talented colleagues for their time and expertise over many years.

"Any further transplants will depend on the willingness of suitable donors and funding for the operations, which comes through Womb Transplant UK. However, we very much hope we will be able to help other women born without or with underdeveloped wombs in the near future."

Approximately one out of every 5,000 women in the United Kingdom is born without a functional womb, rendering them unable to conceive and bear children.

Additionally, numerous women have had to undergo womb removal surgeries due to various health issues, including cancer and endometriosis.

While this marks the UK's inaugural womb transplant, there have been around 100 such procedures conducted worldwide, resulting in approximately 50 babies born from these transplants.