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According to a new study, more than half of US women who received a uterus by transplant succeeded in becoming pregnant.
Between 2016 and 2021, 33 women received uterine transplants in the United States, and so far 19 (58%) have given birth to a total of 21 babies, researchers report in JAMA Surgry on Wednesday. did.
“Uterus transplants should be considered a clinical reality in the United States,” the researchers write.
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All women suffered from so-called absolute uterine factor infertility. That is, they were born without a uterus or had to remove the uterus.
Dr. Liza Johannesson, research leader at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, said in an email that more than one million US women could benefit from a uterine transplant.
In 74% of recipients, the uterus was functioning for a year after the transplant. In this group, researchers reported that 83% had newborn children.
On average 14 months after the transplant, all babies gave birth by caesarean section. More than half were born 36 weeks after pregnancy.
later Recipient gives birthThe transplanted uterus is removed to avoid the need for lifelong use of immunosuppressive drugs.
US surgery performed at Baylor University Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, and Pennsylvania University Hospital is one of more than 100 uterine transplants performed worldwide to date.
Costs can be a barrier for some women.
“Uterus transplantation is effectively a fertility treatment, and some insurance companies may refuse to cover it,” Baylor co-author Dr. Giuliano Testa said in an email.
“Uterus transplant insurance coverage is part of a larger debate, including general fertility treatment coverage,” said John.
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In two-thirds of US transplants, the uterus comes from a living donor, and approximately one in four of them experienced surgical complications.
“If there aren’t enough dead donor pools, the goal should be to reduce the risk to living donors,” he said. Rachel Forbes and Seth Carp of Vanderbilt University in Nashville write in an accompanying editorial.