Woman becomes first in UK to give birth after womb transplant
LONDON — In a medical milestone, 36-year-old Grace Davidson has become the first woman in the UK to give birth after receiving a womb transplant — a groundbreaking achievement hailed by surgeons as 'astonishing.'
Davidson, who was born without a uterus due to a rare condition known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, delivered her daughter, Amy Isabel, via planned caesarean section on February 27 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London. The transplant was made possible after her sister, Amy Purdie, donated her womb in 2023 during an eight-hour operation.
'It was just hard to believe she was real,' Davidson said, describing the moment she held her daughter for the first time. 'I knew she was ours, but it's just hard to believe.'
The couple had previously undergone IVF treatment, creating and freezing embryos ahead of the transplant. Several months after the procedure, one of the embryos was successfully implanted.
The baby's name honors both the donor and one of the lead surgeons — Purdie and Isabel Quiroga of the Oxford Transplant Centre — who helped perfect the complex technique.
The success of Davidson's pregnancy marks a major leap forward in fertility treatment for women born without a uterus or who lose it due to illness or injury. Three other womb transplants have been performed in the UK using deceased donors, and more are planned. Around 10 women are currently undergoing approval for a womb transplant, while hundreds more have expressed interest in the £25,000 procedure, which is currently funded by the charity Womb Transplant UK.
Prof. Richard Smith, the charity's clinical lead who has spearheaded 25 years of research into womb transplantation, said witnessing the birth of Amy Isabel was a deeply emotional moment. 'We finally have a baby — little Amy Isabel. Astonishing, really astonishing.'
Davidson took immunosuppressants during her pregnancy to prevent rejection of the donor organ and has expressed a desire to have another child in the future.
Globally, more than 100 womb transplants have been performed, resulting in at least 50 births since the first successful case in Sweden in 2014. — Agencies
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