The Cleveland Clinic announced Tuesday that they delivered the first baby in the U.S. to be born after a womb transplant from a dead donor.
The child, a baby girl, was born in June and is the second ever to be birthed this way. The first was announced in Brazil in December.
Pioneered by a Swedish doctor five years ago, uterine transplants have provided a development in reproductive options for women who face challenges, such as infertility, and give women an opportunity to have successful pregnancies and give birth to healthy children. However, the wombs that were usually donated came from a living donor.
Tommaso Falcone, a member of the transplant team, told CNN that the mother and child are doing well and that the mother has opted to remove the transplanted uterus after the birth.
“This was always a question mark that required research,” Falcone said. “But this goes to the idea that a deceased donor can give her uterus, and it will function amazingly well.”
Compiled by Olivia Boyd, WI Intern