Woman with uterus transplant gives birth

A mother in Sweden has become the first uterus transplant patient to give birth to a healthy boy.

The baby weighed in at 3.9 lbs (1.77 kg) at his birth, giving hope to millions of infertile women who will now seek the groundbreaking operation.

The 36yr old woman, who remains unnamed, was born with healthy ovaries but no uterus, a condition that affects one in every 4,500 women.

Professor Matts Braennstroem performed the operation, along with a uterus transplant team at the University of Gothenburg. He also delivered the baby, who was born by caesarian at 31 weeks, after the mother developed preeclampsia.

The donation, which came from a 61-year-old family friend, allowed doctors to harvest eggs from the recipient’s ovaries for fertilisation and cryogenic freezing. A year after the pioneering transplant, doctors introduced a single early stage embryo in to the womb.

Doctors say mother and baby are both well and Britain is planning similar operations from next year onwards to help thousands of desperate women wanting babies in the UK.