Latest news with #Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Miracle' baby girl is born from a womb transplant to mom born without a uterus
A British woman born without a uterus has given birth to a healthy baby girl — making the little bundle of joy the first baby in the UK to be born from a womb transplant. Grace Davidson, 36, was diagnosed as a teenager with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome — a rare condition marked by the absence or underdevelopment of the uterus. Determined to experience motherhood, Davidson underwent a womb transplant in 2023, receiving the organ from her older sister, Amy Purdie, who no longer needed it. In February 2023, after undergoing an 18-hour surgery in Oxford, Davidson became the first woman in the UK to achieve a successful womb transplant. She then went through IVF to receive one of the seven embryos she and her husband, Angus, had frozen prior to the transplant. In February 2025, she gave birth to her daughter, Amy Isabel, via Caesarean section at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London. The baby — named Amy after her aunt — was healthy, weighing 4.5 pounds at birth. 'It was just hard to believe she was real,' Davidson told The Times. 'We have been given the greatest gift we could ever have asked for.' 'The moment we saw her was incredible, and both of us just broke down in emotional tears — it's hard to describe, it was elation,' her husband said. 'The room was just so full of love and joy and all these people that had a vested interest in Amy for incredible medical and science reasons.' It was the end of a long fertility journey for the Davidsons — and the crowning achievement for Professor Richard Smith, a consultant gynecological surgeon who founded the charity that funded the initial procedure, Womb Transplant UK. 'I have to say, I walked out of the room in Queen Charlotte's [hospital] with tears streaming down my face. It's quarter of a century — a good proportion of my career,' Smith told The Times. 'I feel great joy, actually, unbelievable — 25 years down the line from starting this research, we finally have a baby, little Amy Isabel.' Amy's middle name honors Isabel Quiroga — the other consultant surgeon for the womb transplant — who said she was 'humbled' by the decision. About 1 in 5,000 women around the world are born without a functioning uterus. Globally, around 50 babies have been born following womb transplants since the first successful procedure in Sweden in 2014. Britain's National Health Service (NHS) said it was delighted by the birth of this 'miracle' baby and expected the medical milestone to offer hope to other women wishing to conceive.
Ammon
08-04-2025
- Health
- Ammon
First British child born from womb transplant
Ammon News - A baby girl has made history as the first child in the UK to be born from a womb transplant. Grace Davidson, 36, underwent the first such transplant in the UK in 2023, receiving the organ from her older sister Amy. Two years later, she has become the first woman in the UK to successfully give birth following the procedure. It is hoped the breakthrough will help women in Britain who are currently unable to give birth because of a rare condition affecting the development of the womb. The Health Secretary said on Tuesday that the transplant could 'possibly' be available on the NHS in the future. The baby, named Amy Isabel after her aunt and a surgeon who helped perfect the technique, was born via planned caesarean section on Feb 27 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London. Mrs Davidson and husband Angus, 37, who live in north London, described the 'shock' of holding their daughter for the first time. 'We have been given the greatest gift we could ever have asked for,' Mrs Davidson said. 'It was just hard to believe she was real. I knew she was ours, but it's just hard to believe.' Mrs Davidson, an NHS dietitian, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition that causes an underdeveloped or missing womb. The ovaries, however, are intact and still function to produce eggs and female hormones, making conceiving via fertility treatment a possibility.
Express Tribune
08-04-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
UK's first baby born to woman with transplanted womb hailed as miracle
Listen to article In a UK medical first, a woman who received a womb from her sister has given birth to a healthy baby girl. Grace Davidson, 36, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a rare condition that left her without a functioning uterus. In 2023, she underwent a successful womb transplant, donated by her sister Amy Purdie, in a groundbreaking 17-hour operation at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. Just over a year later, Grace gave birth by caesarean section to a baby girl, named Amy Isabel, on 27 February at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London. The name honours both the baby's aunt and organ donor, Amy, and transplant surgeon Isabel Quiroga, who led the medical team. 'It was just hard to believe she was real,' Grace said, recalling the first time she held her daughter. 'It was really wonderful.' Photo: FILE Grace and her husband, Angus Davidson, 37, had previously undergone fertility treatment to store embryos before the transplant. Grace became pregnant on her first IVF attempt. The transplant and birth were part of a clinical trial led by Womb Transplant UK. The charity has approval for 15 transplants – five from living donors and ten from deceased donors. All medical staff involved volunteered their time, and the charity covered NHS-related costs. Professor Richard Smith, who leads the trial, said the birth marks the culmination of 25 years of research. 'I feel great joy, unbelievable – it's really something,' he said. Three more womb transplants using deceased donors have taken place in the UK since Grace's operation. Surgeons hope this progress will eventually lead to wider access for women unable to carry children due to absent or non-functioning wombs. Roughly 15,000 women of childbearing age in the UK are estimated to be affected, with around 5,000 born without a womb. Amy Purdie, the donor, said she has no regrets about the surgery. 'It's a huge act of sisterly love,' Grace added, noting how the experience deepened their bond. Grace is currently on immunosuppressants to prevent her body from rejecting the donated uterus. She hopes to have one more child before undergoing a hysterectomy to end the need for the drugs. Surgeons say risks from the medication will return to normal levels once the womb is removed. Globally, more than 135 womb transplants have been performed, leading to at least 65 births. The first successful case occurred in Sweden in 2014. Davidson's birth story is now seen as a beacon of hope for women facing similar reproductive challenges in the UK and beyond.
Saudi Gazette
08-04-2025
- Health
- Saudi Gazette
First baby born in UK to woman with transplanted womb
LONDON — A "miracle" baby girl has become the first child in the UK to be born to a mother using a donated womb. The baby's mum, Grace Davidson, 36, was born without a functioning uterus, and received her sister's womb in 2023 – in what was then the UK's only successful womb transplant. Two years after that pioneering operation, Grace gave birth to her first child in February. She and her husband, Angus, 37, have named their daughter Amy after Grace's sister, who donated her womb. Holding baby Amy — who weighed just over two kilos (four and a half pounds) — for the first time was "incredible" and "surreal", new mum Grace says. "It was quite overwhelming because we'd never really let ourselves imagine what it would be like for her to be here," she says. "It was really wonderful." Grace and Angus, who live in north London but are originally from Scotland, hope to have a second child using the transplanted couple initially wished to remain anonymous, but following the safe arrival of baby Amy are now speaking to the BBC about their "little miracle".The surgical team told the BBC they have carried out three further womb transplants using deceased donors since Grace's transplant. They aim to carry out a total of 15 as part of a clinical was born with a rare condition, Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, where the womb is missing or underdeveloped, but with functioning ovaries. When the BBC first spoke to her in 2018, she was hoping her mother could donate her uterus to allow her to have children — but it proved to be BBC met Grace and husband Angus again in 2019 when one of Grace's two sisters, Amy Purdie, was being assessed to find out if she could donate her womb to Grace. Amy and her husband already had two children and did not want any to surgery both sisters had counselling. Grace and Angus also had fertility treatment and still have several embryos in storage. Grace says she was given the option of surrogacy or adoption, but carrying her own baby felt "really important"."I have always had a mothering instinct," she says, "but for years I had been suppressing it because it was too painful to go there."The first baby born as a result of a womb transplant was in Sweden in 2014. Since then around 135 such transplants have been carried out in more than a dozen countries, including the US, China, France, Germany, India and Turkey. Around 65 babies have been scheduled to take place in late 2019, the sisters' transplant operation fell through and then looked in doubt for several years during the Covid it eventually took place, in February 2023, it took a team of more than 30 medics around 17 hours to remove Amy's womb and transplant it to Quiroga, the surgeon who led the transplant team at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, says although the procedure carried risks for both sisters, it was "life-enhancing and life-creating — and you can't have better than that."Amy says she did not feel the sense of loss some women experience after a hysterectomy, because of the "dramatic" and immediate benefits to her sister. Grace had her first ever period within two weeks of the transplant and became pregnant on the first attempt at was "incredible" to feel her baby's first kick, she says, adding the entire pregnancy had been "really special".Baby Amy was born by Caesarean section at Queen Charlotte's hospital in west London on 27 February. Grace and Angus say they hope to have a second child — as soon as the medical team say the time is donated womb will be removed after the birth of a second child. This will allow Grace to stop taking the daily immunosuppressants she is currently on to ensure her body does not reject her sister's womb. Taking these drugs can increase the risks of developing some cancers, especially if taken over many years — but surgeon Isabel Quiroga says these risks should return to baseline once the womb is Richard Smith, a gynecological surgeon at Imperial College London, who led the organ retrieval team, has been researching womb transplantation for more than two says his team is thrilled about the birth of baby Amy and that she will give hope to many of the 15,000 women in the UK of childbearing age who do not have a functioning uterus, of whom around 5,000 were born without a heads a charity called Womb Transplant UK, which paid the NHS costs for Grace's transplant operation. All the medical staff gave their time for told the BBC around 10 women have embryos in storage or are undergoing fertility treatment, a requirement for being considered for womb transplantation. Each transplant costs around £30,000, he says, and the charity has sufficient funds to do two surgical team has permission to perform 15 womb transplants as part of a clinical trial, five with living and 10 with deceased donors. No details have been made public about the three women who have so far received wombs from deceased donor organs. NHS Blood and Transplant told the BBC extra consent is sought from families for such rare Amy's father, Angus, says he and Grace will never be able to thank his wife's sister enough for enabling them to become parents. It was an "absolute no brainer" that they would name Amy after her aunt, Angus baby's middle name is Isabel, after the surgeon who led the womb transplantation Grace, having baby Amy has brought her even closer to her sister."It was incredibly difficult to let her do that for me," she says, "it's a huge act of sisterly love." — BBC
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Girl is first British child born from womb transplant
A baby girl has made history as the first child in the UK to be born from a womb transplant. Grace Davidson, 36, underwent the first such transplant in the UK in 2023, receiving the organ from her older sister Amy. Two years later, she has become the first woman in the UK to successfully give birth following the procedure. The breakthrough will give hope to thousands of women in Britain currently unable to give birth because of a rare condition affecting the development of the womb. The baby, named Amy Isabel after her aunt and a surgeon who helped perfect the technique, was born via planned caesarean section on Feb 27 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London. Mrs Davidson and husband Angus, 37, who live in north London, described the 'shock' of holding their daughter for the first time. 'We have been given the greatest gift we could ever have asked for,' Mrs Davidson said. 'It was just hard to believe she was real. I knew she was ours, but it's just hard to believe.' Mrs Davidson, an NHS dietitian, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition that causes an underdeveloped or missing womb. However, the ovaries are intact and still function to produce eggs and female hormones, making conceiving via fertility treatment a possibility. It affects about one in every 5,000 women, which means about 7,000 in the UK are living with MRKH. Women are born with the condition but many will not be diagnosed until their teenage years. Before receiving the donated womb, Mrs Davidson and her husband underwent fertility treatment to create seven embryos, which were frozen for IVF. She then had surgery in February 2023 to receive the womb from her sister Amy Purdie, 42, a former primary school teacher, who is mother to two girls aged 10 and six. Several months later, one of the stored embryos was transferred via IVF to Mrs Davidson. Amy, who weighed 4.5lb, was delivered several weeks early in the planned 1.5-hour c-section, to ensure a safe, hospital-based delivery. Mrs Davidson said: 'The first couple of weeks were tricky because she was so sleepy, and we were struggling to keep her awake enough for her feed, but she's doing really well. 'She had a bit of jaundice to start with, and she needed a bit of light therapy, but she's a stronger feeder now, and she's more alert. She will wake herself up when she wants a feed, which is nice.' Mrs Davidson said it had been an eight-year lead-up to the transplant and they 'kept thinking it might get ruled out for various reasons' but maintained hope. She said: 'Lots of womb transplants fail in the first two weeks so even just to get to that point was amazing, and having my first period was really amazing, because it showed it was working.' The 36-year-old took immunosuppressants during the pregnancy to ensure her body did not reject the womb – but said she had been 'lucky' to enjoy an easy pregnancy. Mr Davidson said after the birth they were 'worried she would be whisked off to an antenatal ward, but she's been with us every minute of her life'. 'It had been such a long wait. We'd been intending to have a family somehow since we were married, and we've kind of been on this journey for such a long time,' he said. 'The room was full of people who have helped us on the journey to actually having Amy. 'We had been kind of suppressing emotion, probably for 10 years, and you don't know how that's going to come out – ugly crying it turns out! The room was just so full of love and joy,' he added. The couple hope to have a second child in the future. Mrs Purdie, who lives in Scotland, said the decision to donate her womb to her sister was 'very natural' once the living donor transplant programme became a possibility. 'When she mentioned that there was this opportunity, immediately both me and my older sister, Laura, and our mum – we all said we would do it. There was no question about it.' Mrs Davidson was diagnosed with MRKH when she was 19 and found out about womb transplants at the same time. She described the diagnosis as 'devastating' and said she would be 'triggered by seeing a mum with a pushchair' and the 'really ordinary stuff' that would take her by surprise. Mrs Davidson says she hopes women in a similar situation will now have more options going forward. 'Here's this wonderful baby, and there's that real desire in me, like an innate desire, to be a mum, to carry my baby and to know them from the earliest moment. 'So, I think just knowing that that is an option… this is huge, when it wasn't there before.' The lead surgeons were Prof Richard Smith, clinical lead at the charity Womb Transplant UK and consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Isabel Quiroga, consultant surgeon at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals. Both surgeons were in the operating theatre when Amy was delivered, and her parents chose her middle name in honour of Ms Quiroga. Prof Smith, who led the development of womb transplants in the UK, shed tears at the birth. He said: 'I feel great joy actually, unbelievable – 25 years down the line from starting this research, we finally have a baby, little Amy Isabel. Astonishing, really astonishing.' Ms Quiroga said: 'For me, it's total joy, delight. I couldn't be happier for Angus and Grace, what a wonderful couple. 'It was overwhelming actually, it remains overwhelming. It's fantastic.' Womb Transplant UK has carried out four womb transplants in the UK – the first on Mrs Davidson and then three on women who received wombs from deceased donors. The breakthrough in the procedure was in Sweden in 2014 when the first baby, a boy called Vincent, was born after his 36-year-old mother had a womb transplanted from a close family friend who had said she had completed her family. Dr Mats Brännström, of Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, forecast at the time that womb transplants could be offered to a much wider group of women who have lost their womb after suffering cancer or other diseases, complications after birth and those who had deformed wombs or have adhesions or scars. The first baby born using the transplanted womb from a dead woman was in Brazil in 2018. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
