First UK baby born using womb from dead donor

A baby boy, “Hugo,” has become the first child in the UK to be born via a womb transplanted from a donor who had died.

The 30-year-old baby’s mother, Grace Bell, was born without a viable womb. She called Hugo’s birth “simply a miracle.”

She had Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome since birth, a condition affecting one in 5,000 women where the womb is either underdeveloped or absent.

The transplant surgery took 10 hours and took place at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford in June 2024, followed by IVF treatment.

He was delivered by Caesarean section and weighed 71lbs at the time of birth.

Bell and Hugo’s father, Steve Powell resident of Ken,t thanked the donor’s family for this “incredible gift.

The transplant surgeon, Isabel Quiroga, called it a historical moment in UK organ transplantation.

Hugo’s middle name is Richard, in honour of Professor Richard Smith, who has researched womb transplants for 25 years.

The parents of the late donor also shared their feeling calling it a “tremendous pride.” Their daughter donated five other organs that were transplanted into four people.

Globally, more than 100 womb transplants have performed, delivering 70 healthy babies successfully.

The parents may try for a second bab,y after which the transplanted womb will be removed to avoid a lifetime of immunosuppressant drugs.