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Out of four uterus transplants that were recently performed at a U.S. hospital, three were not successful, doctors announced today. What makes uterus transplants so challenging, and why might they fail?
In mid-September, doctors at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas performed four uterus transplants on women who were born without the organ, according to a statement from the university today (Oct. 5). The uteruses came from living donors, marking the first time such transplants have been performed in the United States. In February, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic performed the country's first uterus transplant, but the organ came from a deceased donor.
However, three of the women who received the transplants at Baylor needed to have their uteruses removed after follow-up tests showed that in all three cases, the organ was not receiving proper blood flow, the statement said. The patient at the Cleveland Clinic who received the first transplanted uterus also needed to have the organ removed, because of a yeast infection that had developed and caused complications.
So far, there have been 16 uterus transplants in the world that...