The first clinical trial of uterus transplantation in the United States has begun at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where the process of selecting women to participate in the Study is now under way. Isn’t this a wonder?
Uterus transplantation may enable women with uterine factor infertility(UFI), (a condition in which a woman is born without a uterus, has lost her uterus, or has a uterus that no longer functions) to become pregnant and give birth.
Although this is a clinical trial, the prognosis are amazing but let see how it works:
- Each woman must undergo extensive medical and psychological evaluations by a multidisciplinary team and receive unanimous approval of the transplant team to be included in the study.
- The clinicians begin the in vitro fertilization process by stimulating the woman’s ovaries to produce multiple eggs.
- After retrieval of the woman’s eggs, they are with sperm in a laboratory and frozen.
- After 10 embryos have been frozen, Lifebanc, an organ procurement agency, starts searching for the organ donation.
- The donor uterus is transplanted into the patient’s pelvis within 6 to 8 hours after harvesting.
- The transplanted uterus is allowed to fully heal over 12 months.
- After 1 year, the woman’s frozen embryo’s are thawed and implanted one at a time, into the woman until she becomes pregnant.
- The woman takes anti-rejection drugs during her pregnancy.
- A high-risk obstetrics team monitors the woman throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
- The woman undergoes a cervical biopsy each month to monitor for organ rejection.
- An obstetrician delivers the baby by cesarean section.
- After the woman has had one or two babies, she undergoes a hysterectomy and stops taking anti-rejection drugs to reduce her long-term exposure to medications.
Uterus transplants are unique because they are temporary.”Unlike any other transplants, they are ephemeral”Dr. Tzakis explained. “They are not intended to last for the duration of the recipient’s life, but will be maintained for as long as is necessary to produce one or two children”
REFERENCE:TONY BROWN, MEDSCAPE.
