Womb Transplant: Britain to Join US, Sweden

A surgeon is preparing to select three women to undergo Britain’s first womb transplant later in the year, following permission granted to British medics to carry out the procedures.

Report sais three women are among 50 infertile patients on a waiting list for the pioneering operation and they will be informed “within a few weeks”.

The operation, which has a price tag of £50,000 (about $66,700), has already been a success in Sweden and the United States.

The world’s first successful womb transplant was carried out on a Swedish woman in 2013.

If the British operation is successful, the first baby could arrive 2019 and then give hope to the 50,000 infertile women in the UK.

A team won approval from regulators three years ago to transplant wombs from dead donors but has been delayed by rules about collecting the organs.

Doctors now say they will also try to use live donors.

“We have got all our ducks in a row this time, we should be ready to go,” said Richard Smith of Imperial College London, who is leading the efforts.

About 15,000 women in Britain of childbearing age do not have a womb, according to press reports.(Xinhua/NAN)