Baby Successfully Born Via Womb Transplant. Will More Follow?

A new solution to infertility problems may be closer than we think. Earlier this month, a Swedish couple welcomed their first child after the mother received a womb transplant last year. The mother, who at 15 learned she did not have a womb, enrolled in a trial conducted by Dr. Mats Brännström, a professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the University of Gothenburg. She received a uterus, which had been donated by a 61-year-old woman, and the transplant was a success.

"What she did for us was so amazing and selfless that the words thank you don't seem like enough," the father told a news outlet. Both he and his wife have chosen to keep their names private, as to protect their family from unwanted publicity. But this couple is not the only one to have found success with the procedure. Two other women from Brännström's trial are expected to give birth before the end of the year. This brings a great deal of joy to Brännström, who is working with doctors in Australia, Britain, Japan, China, and the US to further study the technique.

"It means a lot to me that we are able to help patients who have tried for so long to have families," says Brännström. "This is the last piece of the puzzle in finding a treatment for all women with infertility problems."