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Uterus Transplant~A Womb with A Previous View
Scientific research has come a long way baby. In a recent article in Discovery News, we are made aware of the newest advances in modern medicine. We all know that it is possible to transplant a large range of life-saving organs and I am all for that but what are your thoughts on transplanting a uterus? Is it medically imperative or vanity?
Believe me, I can understand the desire and compulsion to procreate and to bear your own child. But a uterine transplant could be potentially dangerous to the donor and the recipient. A uterus transplant would involve a large organ that undergoes extreme changes throughout pregnancy. Is it a feasible option for women who desperately want a pregnancy but don’t have health on their side?
Is a Uterus Transplant~A Womb with A Previous View worth the risks?
In Britain, the theory may soon be tested. A mother, Eva Ottosson,56, says she wishes to give her organ to her daughter,Sara Ottosson,25, who lives with a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome that causes women to have an underdeveloped or absent vagina and uterus. Sara was born without a uterus. The condition does not usually limit egg production, but makes pregnancy difficult. In theory, successful womb transplants would allow women with these sorts reproductive hurdles to become pregnant.
The mother and daughter hope to be candidates for the procedure under the direction of a Swedish team of researchers next year, potentially allowing Ottosson’s daughter to carry a baby in the same womb she developed in as a fetus. I find this kind of bizarre. I don’t know if it’s because the uterine transplant would be coming from her mother or the fact that she would be growing her fetus in the uterus she was grown in that skeeves me more. I mean, it should be a beautiful gift from a mother to a daughter, right?
Successfully transplanting a uterus has not been done in human beings yet.Hemorrhaging is a major concern because of the large number of blood vessels involved in attaching the uterus to surrounding tissue of the recipient woman. Scientists have however successfully transplanted wombs in different animal, but there are still many hurdles standing in the way of making the procedure viable in humans.It was tried in 2000, but the donor uterus had to be removed because the recipient’s body stopped providing blood to the new organ after 99 days, hardly long enough to gestate a human fetus. Can you imagine having the uterine transplant, finally getting pregnant only to have the organ start failing three months into the pregnancy.That would be absolutely devastating.
If the recipient’s body views the organ as foreign, it could result in a dangerous immune responses of the body trying to expel the uterus. The organ would need to be seen by the rest of the body as part of the recipient body in order to work properly. Otherwise, the woman who receives the organ might not menstruate normally or their bodies may not allow fertilized eggs to implant on the uterine walls. Leaving a woman who had a small chance of pregnancy to having a zero chance of pregnancy. Even if the transplant works, the recipient would have to take imunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their life. And for now, the entire procedure is a theory. Doctors warn that anyone participating in the trial stages of this procedure should not logically expect to benefit from an actual full term pregnancy until the procedure is perfected. Are the risks worth eliminating all chance?
What do you think? Would you risk an emergency hysterectomy if the body rejects the organ transplant for a small chance that it might work? Or is conceiving and carrying your own baby worth risking everything? Would love to hear your thoughts and know what you would do in this situation.
The Ottosson’s are expected to undergo the transplant in spring 2012. But Sara is being practical, if the transplant is unsuccessful she is planning to adopt.
Uterus Transplant~A Womb with A Previous View
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