A Woman Welcomed This Ordinary Baby. But The Birth Was The First Of Its Kind In U.S. History
A home welcomed a seemingly ordinary baby, but the birth was the first of its kind in U.S. history. Bringing new life into the world is a magical experience for the vast majority of mothers. But for one woman in Dallas, Texas, experiencing the miracle of birth was even more marvelous. To all who had thought pregnancy was an impossibility for her, a groundbreaking medical procedure meant her baby was the first of its kind in the U.S. This medical breakthrough gave new hope to thousands of would-be moms who felt bearing a child was beyond their grasp.
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In September 2016, a specialist team at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas conducted a series of cutting-edge operations as part of a clinical trial. The surgeons performed four living donor uterus transplants. While the technique was pioneered in Turkey in 2011, these patients were the first to undergo the procedure in the U.S. All of the women who took part in the medical trial had absolute uterine factor infertility. This means the uterus is absent or non-functional. Some were suffering from Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. This means that while the external genitalia and ovaries develop normally, the uterus does not. As a result, these patients believed they would never be able to get pregnant and have natural-born children.
The successful transplant surgery quickly gave them the hope of giving birth. Thirty-six-year-old Taylor Siler decided to donate her uterus. Taylor, a nurse who already had two children aged four and six, said she wanted to give women the chance of having and raising their own children if they so desired. “I’m a working mom, and having my kids come home to me is an amazing opportunity,” she said. Siler went under the knife in December 2016. She said that although she never met the gift receiver, knowing she made a mother out of someone was a beautiful feeling. She recruited family members to provide for her babies during recovery and said it’s not fair that more people don’t have the option to experience that awesome peace.
However, of the initial transplants conducted in 2016, not all were successful. For the women, it was a devastating loss. Three of the four transplants failed, and the donated uteruses had to be removed due to insufficient blood supply. Nevertheless, the women were determined to try, and the team at Baylor was determined to learn from what had happened. Fortunately, the woman who received Siler’s donation had better luck. With the help of powerful immunosuppressive drug treatments to ward off the possibility of rejection, the medical team marked a new milestone as they found the organ was receiving a good flow of blood. This brave patient became the first mom in the U.S. to have a successful uterine transplant. With a newly transplanted organ that was viable, the team at Baylor became hopeful the uterus would perform its natural function: to successfully conceive, carry, and give birth to a baby.
The medical experts in Dallas knew this was possible. The first baby delivered from a transplanted uterus was born in Sweden in 2014. Specialists at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg have since supervised another five births from transplanted uteruses. This was an exciting possibility for the Baylor team. One team member was Dr. Liza Johannesson, an obstetrics and gynecology expert who was previously part of the team at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. “This is an incredibly important milestone,” she said. “We can now offer this to more women.”
The experts monitored the mother closely. Following menstruation—a sign her new uterus functioned normally—the would-be mother underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF). Surgeons implanted an embryo into her uterus. Months later, sharing a sweet ultrasound in real-time, the woman saw her baby. It was a message of hope from the woman who never thought she’d be a mom, immortalizing the incredible moment. Her pregnancy went according to plan. The next news the Siler family received was an amazing picture of the baby.
The clinical team at Baylor proudly alerted the world that a healthy baby had been born in the last week of November 2017. While they did not disclose the gender, they warmly welcomed the newborn. The father spoke about the whole experience to Time magazine, saying he considered having their baby a miracle. He struggled to find the words to describe the feeling of holding his child. “We will hopefully be able to help other women experience the same wonderful thing,” he said. The mother added, “I have just been crying and getting teary-eyed staring at him every day, and I probably will for the rest of my life. Sitting and holding him was just amazing.”
Delivered via a planned Cesarean section, the child was surrounded by various members of the team who implanted the uterus and helped guide the pregnancy. It was a proud moment for the new mom, as well as the medical specialists at Baylor. The baby came out kicking and screaming, bringing the reality of their study into the daylight. Dr. Liza Johannesson recalled, “It was very emotional. We’ve been preparing for this moment for a very long time. Seeing the baby come out, everyone was in tears.” Dr. Johannesson and fellow obstetrics and gynecology doctor Robert T. Gunby Jr. were the ones who actually delivered the history-making newborn. The groundbreaking medical breakthrough changed everything. “When I started my career, we couldn’t offer this,” Gunby said. “Putting a uterus in someone and having a baby safely born changes everything.”
The specialists at Baylor will continue to monitor the mother and baby as part of the clinical trial. The new mom’s donated uterus is not intended to be a permanent fixture, since transplant recipients have to take anti-rejection drugs to prevent their bodies from rejecting the organ. It has always been the plan for surgeons to remove the uterus after one or two pregnancies. Following the initial transplants in September 2016, the specialists at Baylor have conducted further operations to complete the first round of the clinical trial.
Depending on the success of these further transplants, the procedure could become a viable option for women with uterine factor infertility. However, it should be noted that the total cost surrounding the transplant is in the region of five hundred thousand dollars. The reality is that this could be very difficult for many women to afford. Despite the financial hurdles, the Baylor trial leader, Dr. Giuliano Testa, told Time magazine that they had “underestimated what this type of transplant does for these women.” The emotional impact is hard to describe in words. Whatever the price tag, it is a ray of hope welcomed by women who feel that they will never be able to give birth. It is more than just medicine; it transcends actual surgery. It changes the whole infertility landscape.
