In May, Birmingham, Ala.-based UAB Hospital made history by delivering the first baby after a uterus transplant outside of a clinical trial.
The mother, Mallory, was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, a congenital absence of the uterus, at 17. In 2022, she received a uterus transplant from a deceased donor and in May 2023 gave birth to the first baby out of the UAB's uterus transplant program. The process from organ transplant to implantation of embryo to scheduled cesarean section birth was 18 months, according to a July 24 hospital news release.
"The birth of UAB's first uterus transplant program baby is an incredible milestone not just for the patient and the field, but for our multidisciplinary team here at UAB, as this marks our ability as an institution to offer another option for patients who are experiencing uterine factor infertility," Paige Porrett, MD, PhD, the inaugural director for vascularized composite allotransplantation in UAB's Comprehensive Transplant Institute, said in the release.
More than 50 medical providers gave care through the process that allowed Mallory and her son to make history at UAB and in the field of uterus transplantation, according to the report. UAB's uterus transplant program is only one of four in the U.S. and the first in the world to open outside of clinical trials. Around 100 uterus transplants have been performed to date worldwide.