By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.
Accept
Okay.ngOkay.ngOkay.ng
Font ResizerAa
  • News
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Business & Economy
  • Sport
  • Tech
Reading: UK to Attempt First Womb Transplants
Share
Font ResizerAa
Okay.ngOkay.ng
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Business & Economy
  • Sport
  • Tech
Search
  • News
    • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Business & Economy
  • Sport
  • Tech
Follow US
  • About Okay.ng
  • Advertising on Okay.ng
  • Contact Okay.ng
  • Careers
  • Meet the Team behind Okay.ng
  • Ownership and Funding of Okay.ng
  • Editorial Principles at Okay.ng
© OKN MEDIA PUBLISHING 2022 - All rights reserved
News

UK to Attempt First Womb Transplants

Farouk Mohammed
By Farouk Mohammed
Published: September 30, 2015
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

pregnant

Britain will attempt to carry out its first womb transplants after a clinical trial enabling 10 women to undergo the procedure was approved, doctors said Wednesday.

Surgeons hope to replicate the success of the world’s first-ever effective womb transplant, conducted on a 36-year-old woman in Sweden who gave birth last year.

More than 100 women have been approved as potential recipients ahead of the trial which is set to start in the first half of next year, after ethical approval was granted by the Imperial College London.

- Advertisement -

The procedure has previously also been attempted in Saudi Arabia and Turkey but in both cases did not lead to live births.

Richard Smith, a consultant gynaecologist at the Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London, will lead a team of surgeons carrying out the trial following 19 years of research.

“There’s an innate desire for many women to carry their own baby and this procedure has, potentially, the capacity to satisfy that innate desire,” Smith told BBC radio.

Around one in 5,000 women is born without a womb, while others lose the organ as a result of cancer.

- Advertisement -

Smith said it was “heartrending” to meet those women affected.

Ten women will be selected for the trial subject to certain criteria being met. They must be aged 38 or under, have a long-term partner and be a healthy weight.

However surgeons currently only have funds for “one or maybe two cases” said Smith, adding that they were “desperate” for more funding to complete the £500,000 (677,000 euros, $759,000) trial.

In a six-hour operation participants will receive a womb from a donor who is classed as brain dead but whose heart is still beating.

– ‘Feel baby grow inside you’ –

In the transplant in Sweden, the replacement organ came from a live donor — a 61-year-old family friend of the recipient who had been through menopause seven years earlier.

The baby boy was born by Caesarean section at 31 weeks last October to a woman whose genetic condition meant she was born without a womb.

Two other transplant attempts have been reported elsewhere, but neither resulted in a live birth.

The first, carried out in Saudi Arabia in 2000, ended in failure after three months when the uterus became necrotic and had to be removed.

The second, carried out in Turkey in 2011, entailed a uterus that was transplanted from a deceased donor, resulting in a pregnancy that miscarried within six weeks.

Sophie Lewis, 31, hopes to be among the first to undergo the transplant in Britain, The Times reported.

“To be told at 16 you can’t have children, and then to be given the opportunity to feel your baby grow inside you — it’s too much to say no to,” she told the newspaper.

Ahead of the trial, embryos will be created and frozen using each woman’s eggs and sperm from her partner.

The women must take immunosuppressant drugs to prevent their body from rejecting the womb, which will be removed either six months after the birth or after the woman has had a second child.

If successful, the baby would be delivered by Caesarean section to prevent the donor womb undergoing the strain of labour.

Stay Updated on the Go with Our Latest News—Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!
TAGGED:ukWomb Transplants
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Email Copy Link Print
ByFarouk Mohammed
Publisher
Follow:
Farouk Mohammed is a Head Editor at Okay Nigeria (Okay.ng). He has been publishing for 10 years and focused more on Local/World News on Okay.ng
Previous Article HAJJ STAMPEDE: How Two UNILAG Lecturers Survived.
Next Article Ransom Payment By The Family Of Chief Olu Falae – Nigeria Police Force (Press Release).

Connect with Okay on Social

FacebookLike
XFollow
InstagramFollow
TelegramFollow

Dollar/Naira Rates

Dollar to Naira Rate

Okay.ng Logo
Buy Rate ₦1,560.00
Sell Rate ₦1,570.00

Updated: 2 days ago

Displayed rates are for informational purposes only and are subject to change.

Quick Converter

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image
- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

Recent Posts

Google bot
Google Releases June 2025 Core Update
Tech
NELFUND
NELFund Warns Students Against Fake Loan Portal, Urges Caution Over Fraudulent Links
Education
Tinubu and Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Agree to Establish Formal Diplomatic Relations
International
Ali Bukar Dalori
Ali Bukar Dalori Assumes Role as APC Acting National Chairman After Ganduje’s Resignation
Politics
MI Abaga
MI Abaga Expresses Regret Over Past Support for APC
Celebrities
- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

You May Also Like

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
NewsTop stories

JUST IN: Court Grants Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Bail on Self-Recognition

Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
June 30, 2025
News

Anambra State Orders Investigation After Viral Video Shows Possible Anti-Touting Squad Excesses

Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
June 30, 2025
News

Kano Governor, Emir Sanusi, and Jigawa Leaders Attend Alhaji Aminu Dantata’s Burial in Saudi Arabia

Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
June 30, 2025
Okay.ngOkay.ng
Follow US
© OKN MEDIA PUBLISHING 2025 - All rights reserved
  • About Okay.ng
  • Advertising on Okay.ng
  • Contact Okay.ng
  • Careers
  • Meet the Team behind Okay.ng
  • Ownership and Funding of Okay.ng
  • Editorial Principles at Okay.ng
adbanner
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?