Uterus transplants allow successful pregnancies in US women, study says

Greater than half of U.S. girls who obtained a uterus by way of a transplant went on to have profitable pregnancies, a brand new research exhibits.

Between 2016 and 2021, 33 girls obtained uterus transplants in the US and thus far 19 of them, or 58%, have delivered a complete of 21 infants, researchers reported on Wednesday in JAMA Surgical procedure.

“Uterus transplant must be thought-about a medical actuality within the U.S.,” the researchers wrote.

UTERUS TRANSPLANTS: 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

The entire girls had so-called absolute uterine-factor infertility, that means they had been both born and not using a uterus or wanted to have it eliminated.

Greater than one million U.S. girls may doubtlessly profit from uterus transplantation, research chief Dr. Liza Johannesson of Baylor College Medical Middle in Dallas stated in an electronic mail.

In 74% of recipients, the uterus was nonetheless functioning one 12 months post-transplant. On this group, 83% had live-born youngsters, researchers reported.

The infants had been all delivered by Cesarean part, at a median of 14 months after the transplant. Greater than half had been born after 36 weeks’ gestation.

After the recipient offers delivery, the transplanted uterus is eliminated to keep away from the necessity for life-long use of immunosuppressive medication.

The U.S. surgical procedures, carried out at Baylor College Medical Middle, the Cleveland Clinic, and the Hospital of the College of Pennsylvania, are among the many greater than 100 uterus transplants thus far carried out worldwide.

Price could also be a barrier for some girls.

“Uterus transplant is de facto a fertility therapy,” and a few insurance coverage corporations could refuse to cowl it, coauthor Dr. Giuliano Testa of Baylor stated in an electronic mail.

“Insurance coverage protection for uterus transplantation is a component of a bigger dialogue involving protection for infertility care normally,” Johannesson stated.

FROM CONCEPTION TO BIRTH: A LOOK AT THE STAGES OF PREGNANCY

In two-thirds of the U.S. transplants, the uterus got here from a residing donor, roughly one in 4 of whom skilled a complication from the surgical procedure.

“Decreasing the danger to residing donors must be a objective… if the deceased donor pool shouldn’t be sufficient,” Drs. Rachel Forbes and Seth Karp of Vanderbilt College in Nashville wrote in an accompanying editorial.