Womb Transplants Coming Soon

Soon a woman whose uterus has been damaged or removed due to cancers or other reproductive problems might still be able to carry a child to term using a transplanted womb.

This is a controversial issue in the medical community but could soon be a reality for many hopeful mothers.

In the UK alone up to 200 women use surrogate mothers a year and this could offer a viable alternative. The woman would only have the transplanted womb in their body long enough to deliver the baby and then it would be removed again.

Currently research has been successful on rabbits and the next stage is testing on larger animals.

Tony Rutherford, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said: “I think there is a big difference between demonstrating effectiveness in a rabbit and being able to do this in a larger animal or a human…”

Clare Lewis-Jones, from Infertility Network UK, said “a great deal of thought and discussion” was needed on the issue including the ethical ramifications.

This procedure will definitely raise ethical concerns, but it should be successful in the end. If people are able to donate body parts at death, then why not wombs as well? So long as they are functional then this would be a great advancement in reproductive technology.