Cleveland Clinic to perform first uterus transplants in US

Editor's Note

The Cleveland Clinic will perform uterus transplants in 10 women as part of a research study, the Washington Post reports.

The candidates are women aged 21 to 39 who have uterine factor infertility. The procedure involves stimulation and freezing of multiple eggs, uterus donation from a deceased donor, and a cesarean birth if the procedure is a success.

After the woman has one or two babies, the uterus is removed. Unlike other transplants, these are not intended for the duration of the recipient’s life.

The first successful uterus transplant birth occurred in Sweden a year ago.

(Video from University of Gothenburg in Sweden) While her friends were all starting to get their periods, there was no sign of hers. Then, a gynecologist offered a devastating explanation. "I was a month away from my 16th birthday," she wrote, "and I'd just been told I'd never carry my own child."