In a recent statement by Giuliano Testa, a researcher at the uterine transplant clinical trial at the Dallas hospital, she said that the birth was a “milestone” and a “beautiful moment of love and hope for a mother who had been told she would never be able to carry her own child.”
The transplant was part of a clinical trial to investigate new infertility treatment options for women born without a uterus, women who have lost their uterus or women with a non-functioning uterus, Click on Detroit reported.
Uterine factor infertility, which affects about five percent of women globally, is an irreversible health condition.
The first baby in the world birthed from a transplanted uterus was born in 2014 at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. At the time, the woman was 36 years old and gave birth after receiving a uterus transplant from an unrelated 61-year-old donor.
The Swedish hospital has had eight babies born to mothers with uterine transplants since then.
In order for a woman to receive a uterine transplant, she must be healthy and have functioning ovaries. Before the transplant, the woman’s eggs are obtained from her ovaries and fertilized in the lab with sperm via in-vitro fertilization.
After fertilization has taken place, the woman receives a uterus and cervix transplant.
For an entire year, doctors make certain that the woman’s body is reacting well to the new organ. If that is the case, an embryo is eventually placed in the transplanted uterus.
The woman must undergo a cesarean delivery and because the organ is meant to be permanent, the woman has to take anti-rejection drugs after her first or second pregnancy to remove the donated uterus.
According to the hospital, the mother and her family have asked for privacy at this time. The hospital has not disclosed many details regarding the birth, including when the baby boy was born.
