Uterus transplantation is a procedure where a healthy uterus is transplanted into a woman whose own uterus is absent or diseased. The first successful animal uterus transplantation was in dogs in 1964, while the first successful transplantation in humans was in Saudi Arabia in 2000, though the transplanted uterus only functioned for 99 days. The first baby born from a transplanted uterus was in Sweden in 2014. India's first uterus transplant was performed in 2017 where a woman received a uterus from her mother.

1. Uterus Transplantation Journey So Far

2. Uterus transplant is a surgical procedure
Whereby a healthy uterus is
transplanted into a woman whose own
uterus is absent or diseased. A woman
who undergoes a uterus transplant will
also need to take immuno-suppressant
drugs so that the body does not reject
the organ.
Women who receive wombs through
this surgery will be able to conceive
using in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and
bear children.
As the recipient is treated with
immuno-suppressive therapy,
eventually, after completion of
childbearing, a hysterectomy needs to
be done so that the immuno-
suppressive therapy can be stopped.

3. First study of ovarian auto-transplantation
In 1896, Emil Knauer, a 29-year-old
Australian, published the first study of
ovarian auto-transplantation
documenting normal function in a
rabbit. This led to the investigation of
uterine transplantation in 1918.
In 1964 and 1966, Eraslan, Hamernik
and Hardy, at the University of
Mississippi Medical Centre in Jackson,
Mississippi, were the first to perform
an animal (dog) auto-transplantation of
the uterus and subsequently deliver a
pregnancy from that uterus.
(Representational image)

4. Uterine transplant research gets deferred
In 1931 in Germany, Lili Elbe, a Danish
transgender woman, died from organ
rejection three months after receiving
one of the world's earliest uterine
transplants.
With the availability of in vitro
fertilization in 1978, uterine
transplantation research was deferred.
(Photo: Einar Wegener, the Danish
painter; and Lili Elbe, the woman he
became, Credit: Wellcome library)

5. Uterus transplant in human gets initial success
In Saudi Arabia in 2000, a uterus
transplant was performed by Dr Wafa
Fagee from a 46-year-old into a 26-
year-old recipient whose own uterus
had hemorrhaged after childbirth.
The transplanted uterus functioned for
99 days but needed to be removed
after failure due to blood clotting.
Post-operatively, the patient had two
spontaneous menstrual cycles,
followed by amenorrhea; exploratory
laparotomy confirmed uterine
necrosis. (Representational image)

6. First successful allogeneic uterus transplantation
In 2010, Diaz-Garcia and co-workers at
the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, University of
Gothenburg in Sweden demonstrated
the first successful allogeneic uterus
transplantation in which the rat
subsequently gave birth to a healthy
offspring.
Research continued, with surgeons in
Sweden developing new operating
techniques by working with rats, pigs,
rabbits and baboons.

7. First uterus transplant from a deceased donor
In Turkey, on 9th August 2011, the world’s
first uterus transplant from a deceased
donor was conducted by Dr Ömer Özkan,
Dr Munire Erman Akar and their team at
Akdeniz University Hospital in Antalya.
The 21-year-old Turkish woman, Derya
Sert, who had been born without a
uterus, was the first woman in history to
receive a womb from a deceased donor.
On 12th April 2013, Akdeniz Univeristy
announced that Derya Sert was pregnant
but in May 2013 Sert terminated her
pregnancy in its 8th week as doctors
failed to detect a foetal heartbeat.

8. Mother-to-daughter womb transplant
In 2012 in Sweden, the world’s first
mother-to-daughter womb transplants
were done at Sahlgrenska University
Hospital at the University of
Gothenburg by a team of doctors led
by Dr Mats Brännström.
Two women in their 30s received
wombs from their mothers in surgical
procedures on Sept. 15 and 16.

9. Baby boy born out of a transplanted uterus
In October 2014, it was announced that
for the first time a healthy baby had been
born to a uterus transplant recipient in
Sweden.
The British medical journal The Lancet
reported that the baby boy had been
born in September, weighing 1.8 kg (3.9
lb). The baby had been delivered
prematurely at about 32 weeks by
caesarean section after the mother had
developed pre-eclampsia.
The Swedish woman, aged 36, had
received a uterus in 2013 from a live 61-
year-old donor in an operation led by Dr
Mats Brännström, Professor of Obstetrics
and Gynaecology at the University of
Gothenburg.
(Photo Credit: The Lancet, University of
Gothenburg)

10. Uterus transplant in US
The first uterus transplant in the United
States was performed on 24th February
2016 at Cleveland Clinic.
The transplant failed due to a
complication and on 8th March the
uterus was removed.
In April, it was disclosed that a yeast
infection by Candida albicans had
caused damage to the local artery
compromising the blood support of the
uterus and necessitating its removal.
(Photo credit: Cleveland Clinic)

11. India’s first uterus transplant
On 18th May 2017, India’s first uterus
transplant was performed on a 21-year-
old woman by a team of doctors led by
Dr Shailesh Puntambekar at Galaxy
Care Laparoscopy Institute (GCLI) in
Pune.
The woman suffered from congenital
absence of uterus since birth and
received the womb from her 41-year-
old mother.
According to latest reports, the woman
has been doing well.
(Photo credit: Galaxy Care
Laparoscopy Institute)

12. www.gomedii.com
THANKS