UK's first womb transplant baby: A beacon of hope
The first baby has been born in the United Kingdom to a mother who benefited from a transplanted womb. The donor was one of her sisters.
The UK has witnessed the birth of its first baby to a mother, Grace Davidson, a 36-year-old woman who was born without a functioning uterus. In 2023, she received a womb transplant from her sister. This was the first successful procedure of its kind in the country.
Two years after this groundbreaking operation, in February, Grace gave birth to her first child. She and her husband, Angus, aged 37, named their daughter Amy in honour of Grace's sister, who donated her womb. Grace movingly described the moment she first held Amy, emphasising that it was "amazing" and "unreal".
It was quite overwhelming because we'd never really let ourselves imagine what it would be like for her to be here. It was really wonderful — said Grace, quoted by the BBC.
Amy was born by caesarean section at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in West London on 27 February. Grace and Angus plan to have a second child as soon as the medical team deems it the right time. After the birth of their second child, the transplanted womb will be removed, allowing Grace to stop taking daily immunosuppressant medication.
Womb transplant as a hope for many women
Grace was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, which involves the absence or underdevelopment of the uterus but with functioning ovaries. The BBC first spoke with her in 2018, when she hoped her mother could donate her womb, but this proved impossible. Then one of Grace's sisters, Amy, donated the organ.
Before the operation, both sisters underwent psychological consultations. Grace and Angus also underwent fertility treatment and have several embryos in storage. Grace emphasises that being able to carry her child was "really important" to her. I have always had a mothering instinct, but for years I had been suppressing it because it was too painful to go there — she said in an interview with the BBC.
The first baby born thanks to a womb transplant came into the world in Sweden in 2014. Since then, approximately 135 such transplants have been carried out worldwide, including in the USA, China, France, Germany, India, and Turkey, with around 65 babies born.
Prof. Richard Smith, a gynaecologist from Imperial College London, who led the team that harvested the organ, has been studying womb transplants for over two decades. His team is thrilled with the birth of Amy, which offers hope to many women in the United Kingdom who lack a functioning uterus.
