Uterus transplant is a medical procedure in which a healthy uterus is extracted from the donor’s body and transplanted to the recipient’s body. It is done because some females are born without the uterus or their uterus gets removed due to medical conditions. Doctors suggest organ transplant surgery to replace the missing or damaged organ. It is a good option for women to become pregnant. It is shown that approx. 100 uterus transplants have been done till now.

Types of Uterus Transplant

Living Donor: A healthy female can donate her uterus after matching blood group and organ. It can be taken from friends or family members.
Deceased Donor: This type is extracted from a female who had passed away, and then it is preserved for a suitable donor.

In What Conditions is it Removed?

Uterus is removed due the following reasons:

If the uterus gets damaged because of radiation.
Uterus gets removed due to cancerous conditions or complications occur after childbirth.
Absence of uterus since birth or abnormally formed.

Benefits of Uterus Transplant

It is helpful for women in various ways, such as:

It treats infertility problems which are due to absence of uterus or its non-functionality.
Infertile females can also achieve pregnancy.
In this way, women can have a biological child.
Enhances emotional health, quality of life, and well-being.

Procedure of Uterine Transplantation

It is a little bit complicated process which involves a transfer of the uterus from the donor to the body of the recipient.

Selection of Donor

Donor can be living or deceased, and there are some criteria that have to be met by a donor, and these are as follows:

Pregnancy that results in healthy babies.
Negative test result for hepatitis B & C and HIV.
A person should be physically fit.
No uterine surgery in medical history.
No desire to get pregnant in future.
Fertility evaluation and physiological assessment.

During the Transplant Procedure

This surgical process takes several hours, and the uterus is retrieved carefully from a living donor. Whereas, an organ from a deceased person is removed as soon as before that individual’s death and preserved properly. After extraction, the uterus is implanted into the pelvic region. It is done by a surgeon by connecting the organ from the recipient’s blood vessels and vagina.

Post-Transplant

It is a very important stage after transplantation because there is a chance of the organ to get rejected. To avoid this, immunosuppressive medicines are given to prevent rejection. Patient is monitored to observe any rejection, infection, and complications.

Pregnancy

After successful uterus transplant, uterine factor infertility can be treated, and women can become pregnant through the IVF process. Regular medical care and monitoring are required to support healthy childbirth.

Risks of Uterine Transplant

This surgery might cause risks which include infection, bleeding, transplanted uterus can be rejected, complications with further pregnancy, and cause injuries to many parts like blood vessels, nerves, bladder, and kidney.