Cleveland Clinic delivers baby transplanted from deceased donor’s uterus; 1st successful procedure in North America

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - For the first time in North America, medical staff from the Cleveland Clinic delivered a baby from a deceased donor’s uterus.

The uterus was transplanted from a deceased donor in late 2017 to a woman in her mid-30s. She successfully became pregnant through in vitro fertilization in late 2018, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The baby girl was delivered via cesarean section in June 2019.

“It was amazing how perfectly normal this delivery was, considering how extraordinary the occasion,” said Cleveland Clinic transplant surgeon Andreas Tzakis, M.D., Ph. D.

The procedure was part of a trial at Cleveland Clinic which hopes to provide women who suffer from uterine complications hope in having a baby. Since the clinical trial began, the team at the Cleveland Clinic successfully transplanted three uterine.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. Everything went wonderfully with the delivery; the mother and baby girl are doing great,” said Uma Perni, M.D., Cleveland Clinic maternal fetal medicine specialist. “It’s important to remember this is still research. The field of uterus transplantation is rapidly evolving, and it’s exciting to see what the options may be for women in the future.”

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