Surgeon who transplanted woman’s womb to her sister says she is ‘desperately happy’

A surgeon behind the UK’s first womb transplant has said she is ‘desperately happy’ for the 34-year-old patient – who now hopes to have two children.

Isabel Quiroga, consultant surgeon at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals, led the day-long procedure with Professor Richard Smith, clinical lead at the charity Womb Transplant UK and consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College London.

Miss Quiroga said she was ‘thrilled’, adding that, following the operation, transplant staff were still cautiously taking it all in.

‘It was a very proud moment but still quite reserved – the first two weeks after the operation are nerve-racking.

‘Now, I feel extremely proud of what we’ve achieved and desperately happy for her.’

The operation, a UK first, took place after a 40-year-old mum of two donated her womb to her younger sister, who had previously been unable to have children.

The recipient, 34, who does not wish to be named, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition that affects around one in every 5,000 women. 

Women with MRKH have an underdeveloped vagina and underdeveloped or missing womb, but functioning ovaries that are still capable of producing eggs.

Before the surgery, the patient underwent fertility treatment to collect eggs and create embryos, with the aim of having IVF later this year.

Miss Quiroga said the patient was ‘incredibly happy’, adding: “She was absolutely over the Moon, very happy and is hoping that she can go on to have not one but two babies.

‘Her womb is functioning perfectly and we are monitoring her progress very closely.

‘The reason why we’re waiting and not going straight for IVF is because we want to make sure she’s stable and the transplant is stable, and so far she’s been very, very stable.’

The operation, which cost around £25,000 in total, was paid for by the charity Womb Transplant UK. The cost included covering the NHS for theatre time – the transplant happened when the operating room was not in use – and the patient’s stay.

The charity has approval for 10 operations involving brain-dead donors plus five using a living donor, most likely a womb from a sister or mother. It currently has enough funds for four of these operations.

To be eligible for Womb Transplant UK’s programme, women must live in the UK, be aged 24 to 40 (or 42 if embryos are frozen before the age of 38).

MORE : Woman who received uterus transplant from mum gets pregnant

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