Photograph courtesy of Bridget Coila
Two Swedish women have donated their wombs to their daughters in the hope that they will be able to bear children. These are the world’s first mother-to-daughter uterus transplants.
It will be a year before the younger women will be able to have IVF. So far there have been no complications but only a pregnancy will confirm whether the experiment has been a success, says Michael Olausson, one of the surgeons.
One woman’s uterus was removed years ago because of cervical cancer and the other was born without a uterus. They are 32 and 37 and have not been named. The surgical team is planning eight more transplants to test the technique. Dr Olausson says that the “emotional connection” between the mother and the daughter is an important factor.
There are potential risks in uterus transplants and in fact no babies have yet been born with this technique. A donated womb will not have the same blood supply and could result in pre-term births, with all the dangers that involves. James Grifo, an IVF specialist at New York University, wonders whether a fetus would be affected by immune-suppressing drugs.
