On Wednesday August 23, The Guardian echoed the success of the first uterus transplant in the United Kingdom. This operation gives hope to infertile women.
“Do I want to have children or not?” Many people ask themselves this existential question on a daily basis, everywhere on Earth. Some answer categorically no, while others express their regret at having given life. On the other hand, there are couples who would do anything to raise one. In these cases, when one of the two partners discovers that he is infertile, this can then generate great suffering. Faced with fertility problems, some lovers are considering the use of a surrogate motherwhile others find out about adoption.
Moreover, science is progressing. Wednesday August 23, The Guardian echoed the success of the first womb transplant in the UK. This operation could offer dozens of infertile British women the possibility of becoming pregnant. The patient is a 34-year-old woman, who suffered from Rokitansky syndrome : a disease that affects one in 5,000 women and is characterized by insufficient development of the vagina and the absence of a uterus.
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This uterus transplant lasted more than nine hours
According to the information available to our colleagues, this operation required the mobilization of around thirty people : psychologists, gynecologists, anesthesiologists, obstetricians, pharmacists, as well as transplant surgeons. Funded entirely through donationsthis intervention – which took place last February, at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford and which lasted more than nine hours – cost 25,000 pounds sterling (29,000 euros, approximately).
In the columns of the newspaper, several specialists in the medical sector spoke about this unprecedented operation. “The patient is over the moon: she hopes to be able to have two childrentestified Isabel Quiroga, a surgeon who participated in the intervention. Her uterus is functioning perfectly and we are monitoring her progress closely.” On his side, gynecological surgeon Richard Smith did not hide having lived “the most stressful week of [s]a surgical career”but also “one of the most extraordinary”.
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The patient benefited from the gift of her older sister
In the article of Guardian, it is recalled that women with Rokitansky syndrome are unable to become pregnant naturally. However, following a uterus transplant, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is possible. The 34-year-old patient was able to benefit from the gift of her older sister, aged 40 and mother of two children.
The 30-year-old has recovered well from her operation. However, if she were to become pregnant, she would have to ingest immunosuppressive drugsin order to guard against a possible rejection – by his body – of the implanted organ.
According to our colleagues, a second uterus transplant is planned for this fall, UK. Richard Smith felt that in the future he and his colleagues might be able to “carry out between twenty and thirty transplants each year”. Women with a dysfunctional uterus could therefore benefit, but also those who have lost an organ due to disease.
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Even if she appreciates being able to deal with extremely diverse subjects, passionate about travel, Charline is particularly interested in themes related to society, climate, environment, psychology…