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Doctors have been granted approval to carry out the UK’s first 10 womb transplants, following the success of the procedure in Sweden.
The go-ahead has been given by the Health Research Authority – as part of a clinical trial – which launches in the spring.
Around one in 7,000 women are born without a womb, while others lose their womb to cancer.
If the trial is successful, the first UK baby could arrive in early 2018.
Dr Richard Smith, a consultant gynaecologist at the Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London who has been working on the project for 19 years, will lead the transplant team.
Related on the SLP
He said childlessness could be a “disaster” for couples, but the technique would offer hope to those whose only other option is surrogacy or adoption.
The women who will be selected for the trial must all meet criteria set out by Womb Transplant UK, which include being 38 or under, having a long-term partner and being a healthy weight.
Researchers plan to transplant wombs that have come from donors who are brain dead but whose hearts are still beating — unlike previous procedures in Sweden where live donors were involved.
Experts in the UK say a different decision has been reached here as the initial operation to remove the womb from the donor is complex and not without risk.
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