Woman Born Without Uterus Receives Transplant
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When Lindsey was a teenager, doctors told her she would not be able to have children.
"From that moment on, I have prayed that God would allow me the opportunity to experience pregnancy and here we are today at the beginning of that journey," she says.
Lindsey, who didn't give her last name, was born without a uterus. Now she's the first patient in the United States to receive a uterus transplant. It has been done before in Sweden.
"There were nine transplants, there were about five pregnancies, four babies, I believe, and maybe more coming. Some of them were premature, which is important to remember," said Jones Institute of Allegheny Health Network infertility specialist Dr. Lori Homa.
The Cleveland Clinic team screened more than 250 women to find 10 who qualify for this research study. The 26-year-old recipient had the cutting-edge surgery last month, and is doing well.
"Gradually she feels better. So, we're pleased with the way she's doing," says Cleveland Clinic transplant surgeon Dr. Andreas Tzakis.
Lindsey has functioning ovaries. With a transplanted womb, she can now hopefully become pregnant using in vitro fertilization, and carry her own biological child.
"They really crave that experience of feeling the baby grow, feeling the baby kick and move and carrying the biological pregnancy themselves," sats Dr. Rebecca Flyct of the Cleveland Clinic.
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"I have many women who are either born without a uterus, or had to have their uterus removed either for fibroids or cancer," says Dr. Homa, "They would love to have that experience themselves, many of them."
During the nine-hour surgery a uterus from a deceased donor was transplanted into the recipient's pelvis. Blood vessels were connected, gynecological parts sutured and the organ secured.
"She's going to start recovering, her ovarian function will return, produce estrogen, the estrogen will stimulate the uterus to produce the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, and then she will have a period. the uterus is an amazing organ. it's basically on auto pilot," says Dr. Tomasso Falcone at the Cleveland Clinic.
Like any transplant, she'll take medication to prevent her body from rejecting the organ and over the next year she will be closely monitored. Unlike other organs, the uterus transplant is designed to be temporary. After one or two babies, the organ will be removed.
"We want the organ to be mature and stabile before we can then implant the embryos hoping for pregnancy."
The procedure is experimental. Some critics question the ethics of the surgery.
"When we look at uterine factor infertility, we find that these women, their adult lives, have been shaped by the fact that they have this source of infertility. While it's not life threatening, it's life altering in so many profound ways," the Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Ruth Farrell points out.
Adoption and having a baby via IVF and a gestational carrier are alternatives...which also need careful consideration.
"Those are wonderful options that exist currently for women, just not all women," says Dr. Homa.
Lindsey took a moment to thank her donor's family. "They have provided me with a gift I will never be able to repay."
Lindsey and her husband are already parents to three adopted sons.
Researchers hope to complete ten uterus transplants as part of their study. They say the interest in the procedure has been overwhelming. It is not an option in Pittsburgh at this time.
