Birth following UK’s first womb transplant gives hope to thousands of women

Experts believe a maximum of 20 to 30 womb transplants per year could be carried out in the UK in the future.

Grace and Angus Davidson with their baby Amy, born after the first UK womb transplant (Womb Transplant UK/PA)

The birth of a baby following the UK’s first womb transplant is a milestone which gives hope to thousands of women.

– What has happened?

Grace Davidson, a 36-year-old NHS dietitian from north London, has given birth to a baby, Amy Isabel.

Baby Amy was born by planned NHS Caesarean section on February 27 at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London — Amy was born by planned NHS Caesarean section on February 27 at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London (Womb Transplant UK/PA)

Mrs Davidson received a womb from her older sister, Amy Purdie, 42, during surgery in 2023.

– Will there be more transplants in the UK?

Yes. Three more womb transplants have been carried out in the UK using deceased donors. The hope is the recipients of these wombs will go on to have babies.

Experts believe a maximum of 20 to 30 womb transplants per year could be carried out in the UK in the future.

Professor Richard Smith holding Amy — Professor Richard Smith, holding Amy, has been working on womb transplant research for 25 years (Womb Transplant UK/PA)

Transplants could help women born without a functioning womb, also known as a uterus, and those who lose their organ to cancer or other medical conditions.

Estimates suggest there are 15,000 women in the UK of childbearing age who do not have a functioning womb.

To be eligible for the programme, women must live in the UK and be aged 24 to 40 (or 42 if embryos are frozen before the age of 38).

– Will there be a shortage of donor wombs?

Womb Transplant UK is running two programmes, one involving living donors and another with organs from women who have died.

Amy Purdie, right, donated her womb to her sister, Grace Davidson, to enable the birth of the niece who shares her name (Womb Transplant UK/PA)

The living donor programme in the UK has so far focused on women with relatives who are willing to give their wombs.

However, the team believes that, in the future, the living donor programme will expand to include friends or altruistic donors. This is fairly common in the US.

The use of deceased donors happens when the families of those who have died are asked specifically if they wish to donate the womb.

The womb is not covered by the normal consent for donation, nor by joining the organ donor register, and it is not covered by deemed consent (which presumes people want to donate unless they opt out).

– Did the NHS pay for the womb transplant?

No. Each womb transplant costs around £25,000 and is fully funded by the charity Womb Transplant UK.

Isabel Quigora and Richard Smith, right, performing the womb transplant on Mrs Davidson in 2023 — Isabel Quiroga, left, and Richard Smith, right, performing the womb transplant on Mrs Davidson in 2023 (Womb Transplant UK/PA)

This includes payment to the NHS for theatre time and the patient’s stay on a ward.

The operations are only carried out at times when the NHS is not using the operating theatre, so they do not impact on usual NHS waiting lists.

Surgeons and medical staff involved in the transplant have not been paid for their time.

Once Mrs Davidson became pregnant through self-funded IVF, the NHS took over the costs of managing her pregnancy and the safe delivery of baby Amy.

– Have other womb transplants been carried out around the world?

More than 100 womb transplants have been carried out internationally, with most operations involving a living donor.

The first successful womb transplant took place in Sweden in 2014, with the baby – Vincent – born to a 36-year-old woman who described him as “perfect”.

Amy Davidson being delivered — Amy was delivered at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital (Womb Transplant UK/PA)

To date, womb transplants have been carried out in many countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sweden, the US, China, Czech Republic, Brazil, Germany, Serbia and India.

At least 50 babies are thought to have been born worldwide following womb transplants.

– How successful is the operation?

Data from the US shows that more than half of women who received a womb through a transplant in the US went on to have successful pregnancies.

Lead surgeons Isabel Quigora and Richard Smith who performed the UK’s first womb transplant on Mrs Davidson in 2023 — Lead surgeons Isabel Quiroga and Richard Smith performed the UK’s first womb transplant on Mrs Davidson in 2023 (Womb Transplant UK/PA)

Between 2016 and 2021, 33 women received womb transplants in the US and, as of 2022, 19 of them (58%) had delivered a total of 21 babies.

In 74% of those receiving a womb, the organ was still functioning one year after transplant and 83% of this group had live-born children.

UK data is limited but all transplants carried out so far have led to fully functioning wombs.

– How many staff are needed for a womb transplant?

More than 30 staff were involved in the UK’s first womb transplant in 2023.

The operation to remove Mrs Purdie’s womb took eight hours and 12 minutes.

An hour before the womb was extracted, surgeons began operating on Mrs Davidson.

Grace and Angus Davidson with the hospital teams who enabled Amy’s birth on February 27 (Womb Transplant UK/PA)

Before surgery, both sisters underwent extensive counselling and were reviewed by gynaecologists, transplant surgeons, obstetricians, psychologists, anaesthetists and pharmacists.

They were also assessed by a Human Tissue Authority (HTA) independent assessor to ensure they were aware of the risks and to confirm they were entering into the surgery of their own free will.

The case was also reviewed by an HTA panel before permission was granted to proceed.