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First Uterus Transplant In U.S. Performed

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Mar 01, 2016 10:48 AM EST

The first ever uterus transplant was performed by surgeons at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic Wednesday on a 26-year-old patient. The uterus was taken from a deceased organ donor.

The patient was reported to be in stable condition Thursday, says a press release.

In November, the clinical trial for this study was approved by Cleveland Clinic's Institutional Review Board, whose diverse team of gynecologists, researchers and transplant surgeons were on the job. Doctors began to screen 10 candidates with uterine factor infertility in order to select and perform the transplant operation on.

The uterine factor fertility affects 3 to 5 percent of women globally. This is a condition in which a woman cannot have a uterus, or has a hardly functioning one.

"Women who are coping with UFI have few existing options," said Tomes Falcone, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology at Cleveland Clinic, according to CNN News.

However, the transplant is just one of many steps in the process. The patients too need to have their eggs "harvested, fertilized and frozen", which have to be implanted in the uterus about 12 months post surgery.

The patient would be under continuous monitoring by doctors, take an anti-rejection drug so that her body does not try to get rid of the pregnancy condition.

After a successful pregnancy, the doctors deliver with the help of a cesarean section. Following the delivery, she is asked to undergo a hysterectomy so that the transplanted uterus can be removed.

The research team is still testing potential candidates for surgery.

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