First UK baby born from a womb transplant

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A womb transplant in the United Kingdom (UK) has led to the first such birth of a healthy baby. This marks a breakthrough in modern medicine.

Womb transplant yields successful birth

Earlier this week, Womb Transplant UK shared the news that the first baby in the UK to be born from a womb transplant arrived safely on 27 February. Her mother, 36-year-old Grace Davidson, received a uterus from her older sister in 2023.

In a statement released by the charity, Davidson described her baby as “the greatest gift we could ever have asked for”. She and her husband Angus Davidson have named the little girl Amy Isabel. Grace’s sister, Amy Purdie, donated her womb in 2023, while Isabel Quiroga is the surgeon who helped perfect the transplant technique.

Davidson hopes to have a second child with her transplanted womb. After that, the uterus will be removed. This will allow Grace to stop taking the daily immunosuppressants necessary to ensure her body does not reject the womb.

A medical breakthrough

Scientists are celebrating the birth of the little girl, which brings new hope to prospective mothers who do not have wombs. It is the latest breakthrough in the fertility field where women continue to struggle with conditions like endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Grace Davidson was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. This is a rare condition where the womb is missing or underdeveloped.

When she was diagnosed at age 19, Davidson’s doctor told her about the possibility of uterus transplants becoming available in her lifetime. Shortly after her marriage in 2015, she was accepted onto Womb Transplant UK’s deceased donor programme. After waiting three years without success, Davidson decided to try using a uterus from a living donor. Her sister Amy became the donor.

It took approximately 17 hours of surgery for the uterus to be transplanted between the sisters. Isabel Quiroga, the surgeon who led the transplant team, spoke to the BBC. She described the procedure as “life-enhancing and life-creating – and you can’t have better than that.”

The procedure, which costs about £30 000, or R756 000, was funded by Womb Transplant UK, while medical staff donated their time. The charity has funding for another two procedures.

Little Amy Isabel isn’t the first baby born from a womb transplant. The first such baby arrived in Sweden in 2014. About 135 of the procedures have taken place around the world, resulting in 65 babies.