A mother has made her daughter's dream of experiencing motherhood closer to being true after a successful transplant was conducted. The 22-year-old daughter received a uterus donated by her own mother.

"I felt so desperate after the incredible diagnosis but saw a glimmer of hope when doctors told me I could still have my own baby by receiving a transplanted uterus," the daughter said.

Like Us on Facebook

For two years, Xijing Hospital's medical practitioners have been practicing the operation on goats because they have almost the same structure as humans. This is China's first uterus transplant case and the 12th in the world.

"In order to let my daughter have a perfect life, I am willing to even donate my life," the mother stated. Her daughter who got married before the transplant, was born without uterus and vagina but has functioning ovaries and can reproduce eggs to form a baby.

In April and August, the daughter went through a surgery to form a vagina. Also four frozen fertilized embryos have already been set aside for implantation.

A team of 38 doctors in 11 various areas of specialties performed the 14-hour procedure with assistance from a robot. "There are two tough calls in an operation like this. One is that the uterus is not open to be seen during surgery like any other organ. The other one is that its blood vessels are entwined, and the deeper you go, the thinner the vascular walls are. If accidentally the blood vessel wall is broken, it could lead to thrombosis, and there will be a high possibility that the surgery would fail," OB-GYNE department director Chen Biliang said.

Following the operation on Nov 20, the medical team reported a successful transplant on Wednesday. The 43-year-old mother reportedly lost only 10 milliliters of blood and is currently showing good signs of recovery. On the other hand, the daughter is also said to be in a stable state and needs to be monitored for some weeks more.

After full recovery and stability, the fertilized embryos are likely to be implanted in the daughter's transplanted womb next year. With the mother's uterus still in good condition, Chen believes the daughter's pregnancy and delivery will also be successful.

However, to avoid lifetime use of immunodepressants, the uterus will be removed after the daughter delivers her baby.

In China, surrogate pregnancies are strictly prohibited.  

Tagsuterus transplant, organ transplant, motherhood, surrogate mother, sperm bank, Pregnancy, China Uterus Transplant