Uterus Transplants Enable Successful Pregnancy and Birth

Uterus transplantation is providing a viable path to pregnancy and parenthood for women experiencing absolute uterine factor infertility, a condition that previously left these individuals unable to carry a pregnancy.

Absolute uterine factor infertility occurs when a woman is born without a uterus, has a defective organ, or has had the uterus removed. This condition affects approximately one in 500 women.

According to reporting from Science News, the procedure involves transplanting a donated uterus, which can come from either living or deceased donors, into a recipient to enable the possibility of gestation.

The first successful birth following a uterus transplant occurred in Sweden in 2014. Three years later, in 2017, the first birth resulting from this procedure took place in the United States.

Over the last decade, more than 70 babies have been born globally as a result of these surgeries.

Recent data from Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, which operates the largest uterus transplant center in the world, provides a detailed look at the success rates and outcomes of the procedure.

In a case series reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association on May 1, 2026, researchers analyzed the experiences of 44 women who underwent the procedure at Baylor between 2016 and 2026.

The findings indicate a high rate of initial surgical success, with 37 of the 44 women having a successfully transplanted uterus one month after their surgery.

As of April 2026, 33 of those women had undergone embryo transfers. Of those, 31 women became pregnant, and 27 have given birth.

Among the 27 women who gave birth, 23 had one child, while four women had two children each.

Liza Johannesson, a uterus transplant surgeon who was part of the original team in Sweden and subsequently joined the group at Baylor University Medical Center, helped describe the outcomes for these women and their children.

While the procedure has shown significant success, some patients experienced pregnancy-related complications. Eight of the women in the Baylor series encountered complications, the most common of which were high blood pressure and gestational diabetes.

Medical professionals note that these specific complications are common occurrences in any pregnancy and are not necessarily unique to those who have undergone a uterus transplant.

The progression from the first birth in 2014 to the establishment of large-scale transplant centers like the one at Baylor demonstrates the evolving nature of reproductive medicine for those with absolute uterine factor infertility.