Swedish Surgeons Successfully Perform Nine Womb Transplants

Nine women in Sweden have successfully received womb transplant from relatives who acted as donors, according to The Guardian.

All of the women, mostly in their 30s, were born without a uterus or had it removed due to cervical cancer. They were part of the first major experiment that made it possible to transplant wombs into women so that they could give birth to their own children-instead of a surrogate parent.

"This is a new kind of surgery," Dr. Mats Brannstrom said, according to the news organization. "We have no textbook to look at."

Though there have been two previous attempts to transplant a womb in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, both procedures failed to result in a child. Fortunately, with the success of these recent operations, scientists in Britain, Hungary and other parts of the world are working to make similar plans.

Though the transplant operations did not connect any of the women's uteri to their fallopian tubes-preventing them from getting pregnant naturally-all of the participants carry their own ovaries and have the ability to make eggs, as well. Before the operation, some even had their eggs removed in order to create embryos via in-vitro fertilization.

As approximately one in 4,500 girls are born without a womb, otherwise known as the syndrome MRKH, these transplants could prove particularly beneficial for those looking to conceive in the future.

However, many fertility experts and health officials alike are uncertain if the transplants will result in pregnancy. The long-term results of the procedures are still uncertain. 

The transplants began in September 2012, including both mothers and other female relatives of the recipients. None of the women who donated or received womb transplants have been identified at this time. 

All of the women who received the transplants will need to take anti-rejection medications. Following a maximum of two pregnancies, health officials note that the wombs will be removed so the women can stop taking the anti-rejection drugs, as they could increase the risk of such health issues as high blood pressure, diabetes, swelling and even some types of cancer.  

"What remains to be seen is whether this is a viable option or if this is going to be confined to research and limited experimentation," Yacoub Khalaf, director of the Assisted Conception unit at Guy's and St. Thomas' hospital in London said, via the International Business Times.