‘This baby growing inside of me is hope.’
Those are the words of Liz Goldman, 31, who, thanks to a pioneering womb transplant, is now looking forward to the birth of her first child.
The procedure made headlines this week after the UK’s first uterine transplant was hailed a ‘massive success’. The recipient, a 34-year-old woman who received the donor organ from her sister, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a syndrome meaning she was born without a womb.
It is a rare condition that affects around one in every 5,000 women – including Liz.
‘I was diagnosed with MRKH at 14 and told I was born without a uterus and wouldn’t ever be able to carry my own baby,’ she says.
However, Liz did not give up on her dream of becoming a mother. After first reading about successful womb transplants in Sweden, found a similar programme in her home state of Alabama – becoming the first woman in the state to undergo the surgery.
‘I saw the University of Alabama at Birmingham [UAB] uterus transplant program pop up just four hours away from where we lived in October 2020,’ says Liz, married to husband Timmy. ‘I applied for the programme in December 2020, and that’s what really started my uterus transplant journey.’
The journey is intense, involving months of preparation that takes its toll on the body long before the operation itself.
‘We did three rounds of IVF – after I was accepted into the uterus transplant but before I was listed for my uterus transplant – to create our embryos,’ says Liz. ‘Then I was listed for a transplant.’
Liz paid for the IVF herself, but UAB covered the cost of the surgery and ongoing immunosuppressant treatment. The UK’s first womb transplant cost around £25,000, and was paid for by the charity Womb Transplant UK.
‘One day shy of eight months after I got listed I was in the operating room having my uterus transplant surgery.’
Eight months in the transplant world is relatively fast, and for Liz, it was completely out of her hands. Unlike some cases where a relative or friend donates their womb, the UAB programme operates differently.
‘Our program uses deceased donors so we aren’t given their information,’ says Liz. ‘But I did connect with her mom shortly after my surgery and have been communicating with her ever since.
‘She’s super excited about my pregnancy and our miracle little girl that I’m currently 30 weeks pregnant with. All of this possible thanks to her daughter gifting me her uterus through organ donation.’
And while the outcome could not be better, it has still not been as smooth sailing as may first appear.
‘Uterus transplant surgery and recovery is tough!’ says Liz. ‘Not only are you recovering from a major abdominal surgery but your body has just been dosed with huge amounts of immunosuppressants as well.
‘But although it was tough, I was so excited. I remember waking up in the ICU and asking, “do I have a uterus? Was it successful?” and was told yes!
‘There have been a few obstacles along the way but I just had to keep reminding myself that I had babies in the freezer that I never thought would be possible and I couldn’t give up on them!’
The recovery time from a womb transplant is significant, and surgeons need to be sure the uterus is stable before fertility treatment can resume.
‘We did an embryo transfer exactly seven months after my uterus transplant,’ says Liz, who chronicled her journey on Instagram and Facebook.
‘I did a pregnancy test five days after the transfer and got my first positive pregnancy test. We were so incredibly excited! I did around 50 tests because I just couldn’t believe it! I went from no uterus to having a uterus and now my baby in my uterus.
‘Sadly a little over a week later we had an early miscarriage, which completely devastated me.’
Too many women know the agony of miscarriage. Around one in four pregnancies do not progress past four weeks, yet understanding of the frequency and mental health effects varies across the world.
‘Three months later, on February 9, we did another embryo transfer,’ says Liz. ‘I was hopeful but didn’t allow myself to get too excited because I didn’t want to add another loss onto my already broken heart.
‘I tested five days later on Valentine’s Day and got my first positive test. Later I had my beta blood tests [which measure a pregnancy hormone] and had great numbers that confirmed I was pregnant.
‘When we went to have my first ultrasounds to see the baby’s heartbeat I was so scared something would happen to her along the way, but she stayed with us – and will be here anytime between now and October 6.’
Liz is counting down the days until she can meet her miracle daughter, Zari Grace, the dream she never gave up on – and will be celebrating this weekend with her baby shower. Now, thanks to womb transplant success in the UK, it is one available to even more women.
‘Being able to have a uterus transplant has made my biggest and wildest dream come true,’ says Liz.
‘After my MRKH diagnosis I felt so incredibly hopeless. This baby growing inside of me is hope.
‘I would tell any woman wanting to get a uterus transplant done that it will hands down be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life. But if it’s a dream that you can’t shake and you’re willing to go on this journey, it will be so incredibly worth it in the end.’
MORE : The UK’s first successful womb transplant gives hope to those of us without one
MORE : Surgeon who transplanted woman’s womb to her sister says she is ‘desperately happy’
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