The Cleveland Clinic of Ohio announced on Tuesday, July 9th, that a baby was delivered from the transplanted womb of a dead donor–the first procedure of its kind.
The girl’s mother, a 30-year-old woman, is part of a research trial of women without uteri.
Since the trial began, the hospital has carried out three successful transplants. Two participants are waiting for embryo transfers while others are still waiting for a uterus.
The living recipient of the transplant takes anti-rejection drugs to prepare themselves for the eight-hour procedure. Once the uterus is healed, their frozen embryos are thawed and implanted in the uterus.
Doctors in Brazil successfully carried out a uterus transplant and consequent delivery back in December. However, this recent procedure in Cleveland was a first for North America.