DID YOU KNOW?

Did You Know?……..About Uterus Transplantation

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Did you know that just like kidney,liver and heart,UTERUS also can be transplanted to a woman’s body?

Did you know that pregnancy can grow and develop almost upto term in the transplanted uterus and a live and healthy baby can be born?

Yes.Uterus Transplantation has become a reality in many parts of the world including India.India and a few other countries have been successful in growing pregnancies in the transplanted uteri and bringing out healthy babies.

Mothers can donate their uteri to their daughters.Siblings,relatives,friends or any ladies in that order,can be uterus donors.

Please note that it just cannot be plucked like a flower from the donor and clipped into the recipient’s body.Just like any other organ transplantation a series of tests are to be conducted on the donor and recipient so that the recipient’s body does not reject the new uterus.How meticulous the tests and checkups may be,a good percentage of rejection chances are there.Immunosuppressant (anti rejection)medicines are given in the necessary dosage to minimise rejection chances.

The surgery on the donor as well as the recipient are really complex and the surgeons and their teams should have very precise expertise and dedication.It is a 6 to 12 hours of intense work.It is not just the uterus,but adjacent parts like a cuff of vagina,blood vessels etc are to be removed from the donor without injuring parts like urinary bladder and ureters.Otherwise the donor will have to face major postoperative complications.If the donor is a dead woman the operating time and difficulty on the donor is less.The parts are to be sutured perfectly in place in the recipient.If signs of rejection become obvious,the transplanted uterus has to be removed immediately.Thus the very expensive procedure can go in vain.

Once the transplanted uterus shows normal functioning,pregnancy is attempted by assisted reproductive techniques like IVF((In Vitro Fertilisation).Here sperm from male and egg from female are made to unite in a dish(test tube) and the embryo is implanted into the uterus.IVF too is not as simple as it is said.It is expensive and successful to the maximum of 40% only.Pregnancy by IVF, in a transplanted uterus,in a lady who is on anti rejection drugs,faces more chances for anomalies.Delivery is always by Caesarean section.

After one or two deliveries the transplanted uterus has to be removed so that the immunosuppressant drugs can be stopped.Apart from their cost,they act by suppressing the body’s own immune system which tries to reject the transplanted uterus.If the immune system is suppressed,the body gets victimised to various illnesses.

Transplants like liver,kidney and heart are life-saving.Though the recipient needs life-long anti rejection drugs,with proper care,he can get many more years of healthy and comfortable life .But in the case of uterus transplant,it is never a lifesaver.The recipient lady can be happy about having a functioning uterus to the extent of bearing a child of her own,at the expense of a series of complex procedures.

Anyway its a great research work globally and the doctors and their teams need to be congratulated and honoured immensely.Let us be proud of India’s such Health Research Programmes and their implementation.

PHOTO—–INDIA’S FIRST UTERINE TRANSPLANT BABY