At 15, Malin Stenberg received the devastating news that she could not bear children. She was among baby girls born without a womb, a condition doctors refer to as mullerian agenesis or MRKH. It is a congenital malformation where the mullerian duct - which gives rise to the fallopian tubes, cervix, uterus, and the upper portion of the vagina - fails to develop resulting in the absence of a uterus. The condition affects 1 in 4,500 females.
Today, she holds the distinction of being the first woman who delivered a baby from a transplanted womb, donated by a 61-year-old friend. She underwent the womb transplant as part of a research funded by the Swedish Charity Jane and Dan Olsson Foundation.
The Gothenburg University-initiated programmed involved nine …show more content…
Then she met her current partner Claes Nilsson at 30. He turned out more determined to have a family and vowed to do everything possible for them to have a baby.
The couple initially considered surrogacy and adoption before joining the pioneering Gothenburg University transplantation programme.
Matts Brannstrom, Gothenburg University's professor of obstetrics and gynaecology and lead researcher, warned the couple there were no guarantees to the success of the transplant.
The transplant operation lasted 10 hours. Stenberg was made to take three types of drug to keep her body from rejecting the transplanted organ. Doctors were elated when she started having her period six weeks after the operation, saying it was a sign of a healthy womb.
Brannstrom was also surprised that an older uterus was successful for the transplant.
A year after the breakthrough operation, a single embryo from an egg and sperm taken from the couple created in a lab dish was transferred to her womb. Stenberg experienced three mild rejections, including when she was pregnant, that doctors successfully
Today, she holds the distinction of being the first woman who delivered a baby from a transplanted womb, donated by a 61-year-old friend. She underwent the womb transplant as part of a research funded by the Swedish Charity Jane and Dan Olsson Foundation.
The Gothenburg University-initiated programmed involved nine …show more content…
Then she met her current partner Claes Nilsson at 30. He turned out more determined to have a family and vowed to do everything possible for them to have a baby.
The couple initially considered surrogacy and adoption before joining the pioneering Gothenburg University transplantation programme.
Matts Brannstrom, Gothenburg University's professor of obstetrics and gynaecology and lead researcher, warned the couple there were no guarantees to the success of the transplant.
The transplant operation lasted 10 hours. Stenberg was made to take three types of drug to keep her body from rejecting the transplanted organ. Doctors were elated when she started having her period six weeks after the operation, saying it was a sign of a healthy womb.
Brannstrom was also surprised that an older uterus was successful for the transplant.
A year after the breakthrough operation, a single embryo from an egg and sperm taken from the couple created in a lab dish was transferred to her womb. Stenberg experienced three mild rejections, including when she was pregnant, that doctors successfully