August 22nd 2023.
Surgeon Isabel Quiroga is the mastermind behind the UK's historic first womb transplant. With Professor Richard Smith, the two accomplished the day-long procedure in a matter of hours. Quiroga is elated by the results and stated that she is "desperately happy" for the 34-year-old patient, who now has hope of having two children.
The recipient of the transplant was born with a rare condition known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser, which affects about one in every 5,000 women. This disorder causes an underdeveloped vagina and an underdeveloped or missing womb, but the ovaries remain to be functional and able to produce eggs. Before the surgery, the patient underwent fertility treatment for egg collection and embryo creation, with the goal of having IVF later this year.
Miss Quiroga reported that the patient was "incredibly happy" and "absolutely over the moon" with the results. The womb is reportedly functioning perfectly and the patient is being closely monitored. As of now, they are waiting to ensure the transplant is stable before progressing to IVF.
The surgery, which cost approximately £25,000, was paid for by the charity Womb Transplant UK. The cost included the NHS for theatre time and the patient's stay. The charity has approval for 10 operations involving brain-dead donors and five with a living donor, usually a womb from a sister or mother. Unfortunately, they only have enough funds for four of these operations.
To be eligible for Womb Transplant UK’s programme, women must live in the UK and be between 24 and 40 years old. Now that the first successful operation has been completed, the hope is that this procedure will continue to help women with the same disorder.
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