A baby is born from the womb of a dead donor - the first in US, health center says

The first baby in North America born from the uterus of a deceased donor was welcomed into the world in June, the Cleveland Clinic said in a news release.

The baby girl’s mother is in her mid-30s and conceived through in vitro fertilization after a uterus transplant in 2017, the clinic said.

“It was amazing how perfectly normal this delivery was, considering how extraordinary the occasion,” transplant surgeon Dr. Andreas Tzakis said, according to the news release. The baby was born via cesarean section.

It’s estimated that one in 500 women is affected by Uterine Factor Infertility, the clinic said. University of Southern California Fertility describes UFI as “abnormalities of the uterus [that] can contribute to the inability to get pregnant.”

The Cleveland Clinic team has done five uterus transplants, two of which were ultimately removed.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. Everything went wonderfully with the delivery; the mother and baby girl are doing great,” Dr. Uma Perni said, according to the new release. “It’s important to remember this is still research. The field of uterus transplantation is rapidly evolving, and it’s exciting to see what the options may be for women in the future.”

This is only the second-ever baby born from the womb of a deceased donor in the world. The first was in Brazil in December of 2018, NBC News reported. The mother was born without a uterus and became pregnant through IVF before giving birth via cesarean section.