Uterus Transplant: First Babies Born in the United States
There are simply no words to describe the joy and amazement our team felt when the first U.S. baby was born from a transplanted uterus right here in Dallas. We are especially honored to have played a part in such a remarkable fertility treatment milestone.
Our very own Dr. J. Michael Putman was part of the Baylor research team who facilitated the transplant and accompanied the mother every step of the way during her IVF cycle, embryo transfer and the much-celebrated birth.
And, while the team was certainly proud of their accomplishments, Baylor’s lead researcher Dr. Giuliano Testa expressed it best during an interview with TIME Magazine’s exclusive interview saying, “We do transplants all day long. This is not the same thing. I totally underestimated what this type of transplant does for these women. What I’ve learned emotionally – I don’t have words to describe.”
The majority of the 10 women involved in the trial have a rare female infertility factor called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, meaning they are born without a uterus. In the past, this meant zero chance of ever getting to be pregnant or give birth to a baby without the assistance of a surrogate. Now, as a result of the trial’s success, researchers hope uterus transplant procedures will be more widely available within the next five to ten years.
You can read a description of MRKH and get personalized insight into the lives of the woman who birthed the first baby in Scrubbing In’s article, A Message of Hope for Those Struggling with Infertility.