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 on Saturday 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 enrol 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 news conference was scheduled on Monday to discuss the Dallas baby’s birth. 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.
Womb donors can be dead or alive. The first four cases involved “altruistic” donors — unrelated and unknown to the recipients. 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.
