Washington, DC -- A group of physicians in New York say that transplant technology for vital organs such as the liver, kidney, heart, and lungs has advanced enough to allow transplants of the uterus, a nonvital organ, according to a study published in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. To support their argument, they point out that reproductive organ transplants (ovaries and fallopian tubes) have already successfully occurred. Their study details their newly developed technique that allows the retrieval of necessary blood vessels to be used for the uterus transplantation.

Research approval for the human uterus transplant project was received from the New York Downtown Hospital Institutional Review Board and the New York Organ Donor Network. The researchers looked at the results of multi-organ transplantation retrievals in 150 organ donors, nine of whom consented to donating their uterus. Eight were successful, meaning that the uterus was removed from a multi-organ donor whose heart was beating but who was brain-dead. None of the uteri were actually transplanted.

Although assisted reproductive technology has helped many infertile women become pregnant and deliver healthy babies, there are women with no functional uterus who would like to become pregnant. The researchers admit that nonvital organ transplantation raises major ethical concerns, but point out that hand and face transplants have already been done. Only one uterine transplant has been done in humans, and it survived for three months.

The safety of both the woman and the fetus must be considered in balancing the risk of uterine transplantation, the researchers say. Recipients must assume the risk of short-term immunosuppression (i.e. one to two years for one successful pregnancy) and potential organ rejection. However, the researchers say that safety data for the fetus is reassuring based on successful pregnancies in women who have had liver, lung, and kidney transplants.

The researchers say that their hope is to eventually restore reproductive function through transplantation of a human uterus. The investigators have more than one hundred candidates in the preparation process as well as many potential patients calling every day.

Contact: Giuseppe Del Priore, MD, MPH, New York Downtown Hospital, New York, NY, at info@cancerandfertility.org.

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