A British woman has made history by becoming the first in the United Kingdom to give birth after receiving a womb transplant from her sister, a medical milestone that could transform the lives of thousands of women across the country, according to the Daily Mail.
Grace Davidson, 36, who was born without a womb, and her husband Angus, 37, welcomed their daughter, Amy Isabel, on February 27.
The couple described her arrival as “the greatest gift we could ever have asked for.”
At age 19, Grace was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser Syndrome, a rare reproductive disorder where women are born with either no womb or an underdeveloped one.
Her life-changing journey culminated in a C-section delivery at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London, where a team of 20 medical professionals stood by to manage any complications. Baby Amy arrived safely, weighing 2.06kg (4.5 pounds), and required no additional care.
The baby’s birth came three weeks earlier than scheduled when signs of premature labor emerged. As Grace’s cervix began to shorten, doctors decided to deliver early to minimize stress on the transplanted womb.
Describing the moment she held her daughter for the first time, Grace, a dietitian from north London, said it was “beyond amazing.”
“It was without any doubt, the best day of our lives. Full of joy, so much happiness and tears. I had longed to be a mum for so long,” she told Daily Mail.
Grace received her womb in February 2023 from her older sister, Amy Purdie, 42 — a mother of two who bravely underwent an eight-hour operation and weeks of recovery. Despite her aversion to hospitals, needles, and blood, Amy called the experience “a huge privilege.”
The baby’s name pays tribute to two women central to this journey, her aunt and donor, Amy, and consultant transplant surgeon Isabel Quiroga of The Churchill Hospital, Oxford.
Quiroga, who co-led the complex 17-hour procedure to extract and transplant the womb, was moved to tears when she learned the baby would carry her name.
Professor Richard Smith of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, who led the transplant alongside Quiroga, hailed the birth as a beacon of hope for thousands of women who believed motherhood was beyond their reach.
The groundbreaking team has since performed three additional womb transplants using organs from deceased donors, another first in the UK.
According to Professor Smith, all recipients are doing well and menstruating regularly, with hopes of pregnancies on the horizon.
Grace and Angus are hoping to welcome one more child before the donated womb is removed within five years, a step necessary so that Grace can stop taking immunosuppressant drugs, which carry long-term health risks, including cancer.
