Just weeks after she underwent surgery for a uterus transplant, the first woman to undergo this procedure in Australia is pregnant! Kirsty Bryant had surgery in January, and the donor was her mother. Now, she will carry a baby in the same uterus that she was carried in. She is currently seven weeks pregnant after the embryo was implanted.
While she admits it feels great, she also talks about how surreal it was to have her mother’s uterus and carry a child inside it so quickly. The transplant is only temporary, as uterus transplants only last about five years. Ms. had to Bryant had a hysterectomy right after having her daughter Violet a few years ago.
That hysterectomy was a life-saving procedure for her, but it also meant she assumed she would never have any more children. Then she became part of a clinical trial for uterine transplants, which is how she got the 16-hour surgery. His mother was also excited to have another grandchild, so it was fun for the whole family.
The successful transfer of an embryo after a uterus transplant is the first in Australia, and so far everything in the pregnancy is progressing normally. This is also the first embryo transfer of Ms. Bryant, so the probability of getting it so quickly and easily is not that high.
Ms. Bryant, the doctors and researchers who were part of the clinical trial were very pleased with the success of the procedure. It offers hope to many more women who want to have children, but may not be able to because of a hysterectomy, problems with their uterus or Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) Syndrome.
Now that researchers have shown that it is possible to transplant a uterus and then successfully implant an embryo, more studies can move forward and give this opportunity to additional women. Over time, this could lead to it becoming a more common procedure that would help more women across the country have successful pregnancies and expand their families.
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