In a groundbreaking medical achievement, a baby girl named Amy has become the first in the UK to be born from a womb transplant. She was born on February 27 at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London, following a transplant procedure that took place two years earlier. Her mother, Grace Davidson, received the transplant from her older sister, Amy Purdie, after suffering from Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome, a rare condition that left her without a functioning womb.
Grace and her husband, Angus Davidson, expressed immense joy and gratitude following the birth of their daughter. Grace described Amy’s birth as “the greatest gift” and expressed hope that womb transplants could offer women who are otherwise unable to carry their own children a new opportunity for motherhood.
“I hope this could become a wonderful reality, and provide an additional option for women who would otherwise be unable to carry their own child,” Grace said. Her husband, Angus, shared the emotional impact of the moment, recalling how years of suppressed emotions were released in joyful tears after Amy’s birth.
The transplant was carried out in February 2023 at the Oxford Transplant Centre, with Amy Purdie, Grace’s sister, being the donor. Amy, who has two children of her own, became the first living donor in the UK to undergo this procedure. The medical team that helped Grace and Amy included experts from the Oxford University Hospitals foundation, with Professor Richard Smith, a consultant gynaecological surgeon, noting that the birth of Amy represents the culmination of over 25 years of research into womb transplants.
Since the first successful womb transplant in Sweden in 2013, over 100 womb transplants have been performed worldwide, resulting in the birth of around 50 healthy babies. The birth of Amy marks a significant milestone in reproductive medicine, offering hope for women with similar conditions to become mothers.
