Science Friday: Uterus transplants

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November 12, 2015

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November 12, 2015

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Uterus transplants may soon help infertile women in the U.S. become pregnant

Thursday, November 12, 2015 4:28 PM EST

Within the next few months, surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic expect to become the first in the United States to transplant a uterus into a woman who lacks one, so that she can become pregnant and give birth. The recipients will be women who were either born without a uterus, had it removed or have uterine damage. The transplants will be temporary: each uterus will be removed after the recipient has had one or two babies, so she can stop taking transplant anti-rejection drugs.

Uterine transplantation is a new frontier, one that pairs specialists from two fields known for innovation and for pushing limits, medically and ethically: reproductive medicine and transplant surgery. If the procedure works, many women could benefit: an estimated 50,000 women in the United States do not have a uterus. But there are potential dangers.

Read more » http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/health/uterus-transplants-may-soon-help-some-infertile-women-in-the-us-become-pregnant.html?emc=edit_na_20151112&nlid=67282866&ref=cta&_r=0