On February 24, a 26-year-old woman from Texas became the first person in the United Sates to receive a uterus transplant, but on March 8, the transplant was removed after the patient suffered complications.
This experimental surgery is meant to give women who are born without a uterus, or who suffered damage to their uterus, the opportunity to give birth.
Unlike other organ transplants, uterus transplant recipients will only keep the transplant for a few years. After giving birth, a woman will have the donor uterus removed so that she does not have to spend her life taking anti-rejection medication for an organ that has already served its sole purpose.
The Cleveland Clinic, where the procedure took place, has permission to perform 9 more uterine transplants in women ages 21 to 39. After, officials will decide whether to continue; 250 women have been evaluated to be included in this trial. Uterus transplants have successfully occurred in Sweden, and so hopefully soon the United States will follow.
Learn more about this fascinating procedure in the full NY Times Article.
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