The woman who underwent the first uterus transplant in the U.S. has three adopted children and is now looking at becoming pregnant for the first time.
The said operation took place on Feb. 24 at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio and lasted for nine long hours. The transplanted uterus came from a deceased donor who was in her 30s.
Before the operation and days after it ended, the patient's identity was not revealed to maintain privacy. Now, she has finally spoke and talked about her experience.
The Patient
Lindsey is a 26-year-old woman, who was still bounded by a wheelchair during the press conference. She and her husband Blake, also 26, have three adopted sons. To protect the children, she still opted to keep her family name private.
Lindsey was born without a uterus, dashing her dreams of having a biological child.
"I was told at 16 I would never have children," she says.
From that moment, she kept praying so that God would enable her to experience what it is like to be pregnant.
Transplant surgeon Dr. Andreas Tzakis says Lindsey is slowly feeling better and the medical team is pleased with her progress.
The Plan Of Pregnancy
Now, she is looking forward to getting pregnant next year.
Lindsey recalled how she wanted to become pregnant and stated that now, she is finally starting on that journey.
Dr. Rebecca Flyckt from Cleveland Clinic says women long for that event when the baby starts to grow inside the womb, kick and make movements. These women basically want to experience the biological pregnancy first-hand.
Despite the excitement, Lindsey cannot jump into being pregnant at once. She has to wait for another year when she can already lower her doses for anti-rejection medicines.
Also, she will not undergo the conventional way of conception, which is via sexual intercourse. This is because even if she has healthy ovaries, the transplant did not include the fallopian tubes where the egg travels from the ovaries to the womb. Instead, her embryos and Blake's sperm will be implanted into her uterus.
When Lindsey gives birth, she will have it via Cesarean section as near as possible to her expected date of delivery.
Flyckt says the goal of uterus transplant is having a healthy child, which is something that can occur years after the successful transplant. It is not simply removing the organ from one body to another.
Doctors say the transplanted uterus have to be removed after one or two babies so that Lindsey will not have to take anti-rejection drugs all her life.
