A Scottish couple welcomes their baby girl, Amy, after her mother undergoes a groundbreaking womb transplant from her sister, marking the first time such a feat was achieved in UK history.
In a groundbreaking medical breakthrough, a Scottish couple has welcomed their baby girl, ‘Amy’ , after her mother underwent a womb transplant from her sister.
A womb transplant, also known as utering transplantation, is a surgical procedure where a healthy uterus is transplanted into a woman with a non-functioning or absent uterus.
This procedure was first performed in 2014 and has since been successful in several countries.
The donated uterus comes from a deceased donor, typically after their family gives consent.
The recipient's immune system is suppressed to prevent rejection of the new organ.
Womb transplants have given hope to women with uterine factor infertility, allowing them to carry their own children.
A Rare Genetic Disorder and a Long Journey
Thirty-six-year-old Davidson, born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, a rare genetic disorder causing non-functioning wombs or their absence, had been trying to assess whether womb transplantation was feasible for years. Alongside her sister Amy Purdie, who donated her uterus, they embarked on an extraordinary journey.
The Complex Transplant Process
The transplant procedure involved over 30 doctors and took 17 hours to complete. Despite the risks, the surgery was deemed ‘life-enhancing and life-creating’ by transplant surgeon Isabel Quiroga of Oxford’s Churchill Hospital. The process was technically a hysterectomy, but Purdie reported not feeling the same sense of loss as some women who undergo this procedure.
Womb transplantation is a surgical procedure that involves transplanting a healthy uterus into a woman with uterine factor infertility.
This condition affects approximately 15% of women, making them unable to carry a pregnancy.
The first successful womb transplant was performed in 2014 by a team of surgeons at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
Since then, several countries have followed suit, and the procedure has shown promising results.
A New Lease on Life
Just a few weeks after the successful transplant, Davidson experienced her first menstrual period. She and her husband Angus soon attempted in-vitro fertilization, resulting in an unexpected pregnancy on their very first try. On February 27, 2025, exactly two years since the transplant, Davidson gave birth to ‘baby Amy’.
‘I’m not often short of words, but when the baby came out, I was speechless,’ said Richard Smith, an Imperial College London gynecological surgeon who worked on Davidson and Purdie’s transplant. ‘There were a lot of tears in the theatre that day. The whole thing is astonishing and incredibly moving.’
A New Chapter for the Davidsons
The couple is now considering a second child, pending medical clearance. However, if they do have another baby, it will be the last one Davidson carries due to the risk of cancer associated with long-term immunosuppressant use.
The transplant has had a profound impact on the couple, who describe their new ‘baby as ‘a little miracle’‘. The first time they held Amy, it was ‘quite overwhelming,’ as Davidson put it. ‘We’d never really let ourselves imagine what it would be like for her to be here,’ she said.
- futurism.com | Baby Born to Woman With Transplanted Womb
