Thursday, December 7, 2017

First U.S. Baby Born After a Uterine Transplant

It was bound to happen sooner or later. A U.S. woman who was born without a uterus has just given birth to healthy baby after doctors at Baylor University transplanted a uterus into her last year, according to an ABC news report.

Transplant doctors see it as a significant advance, and indeed it may be. Once perfected, the technique could offer hope to women who for whatever reason do not have a functioning uterus and so cannot experience pregnancy and childbirth. However, it is important to note that the technique is still in the research stage. Several of the very few uterine transplants performed so far have had to be removed because they failed.

I've written about some of the ethical and financial issues related to uterine transplants before (see this blog, Nov. 23, 2015 and Feb. 29, 2016). What do you think?

No comments: