Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic have delivered a baby from a uterus that was transplanted from a deceased donor, according to a statement from the hospital.
The baby girl was born in June, and she and her mother are "doing great," Dr. Uma Perni said in the statement.
The baby girl's birth was the first from a transplanted uterus from a deceased donor in North America. It's the second such birth worldwide -- In December, a baby was born in Brazil after the same kind of transplant.
The transplant and birth were part of an ongoing clinical trial known as Uterine Transplantation for the Treatment of Uterine Factor Infertility at Cleveland Clinic. The uterus came from a deceased donor and was transplanted in late 2017. The mother, who is in her mid-30s, became pregnant in late 2018 through in vitro fertilization.
"It was amazing how perfectly normal this delivery was, considering how extraordinary the occasion," said Cleveland Clinic transplant surgeon Dr. Andreas Tzakis, "Through this research, we aim to make these extraordinary events, ordinary for the women who choose this option. We are grateful to the donor and her family, their generosity allowed our patient's dream to come true and a new baby to be born."
Since Cleveland Clinic began the clinical trial in 2016, it has completed five uterus transplants, three of which were successful. There are currently two women awaiting embryo transfers and several more candidates waiting for a transplant.
The clinic aims to enroll 10 women in the study.
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