Womb transplant in Britain
Britain has officially for the first time given a go ahead to perform womb transplant operations.
Ten womb transplants have been granted ethical permission after a woman successfully gave birth to a baby from a transplanted womb in Sweden on September 2014. The donated womb came from the woman’s own mother, making it the first baby in the world born to a woman using the same womb from which she was herself born.
The British womb transplant research program will be open to women in a long term relationship aged between 25 and 38 and who have normally functioning ovaries and their own eggs.They will have to be UK residents and eligible for NHS care. After receiving hundreds of requests from infertile women, the team has zeroed down on 104 women who meet the basic requirements for potential inclusion on the program.
Richard Smith, head of the research team and a consultant gynecologist in London, said, ‘This operation is clearly a viable option for those women who otherwise have absolutely no chance of carrying their own baby. Absolute infertility can bring with it terrible consequences for as many as 50,000 women of childbearing age in the UK who do not have a viable womb.’
If successful, the first UK baby born from a womb transplant could arrive earliest by late 2017 or 2018.
Written by: Dr. Ajay Sati.
