In recent decades, physicians have made huge strides in helping women formerly considered infertile become pregnant with new drugs and procedures, like in vitro fertilization.
But for those with a condition called absolute uterine factor infertility, even the most cutting-edge technology could fall short if they wanted to carry their own child.
An estimated 1 in 500 women of reproductive age experience absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI), which means they can’t get pregnant because they don’t have a functional uterus.
Until very recently, the only way women with AUFI could have children was through adoption or gestational surrogacy.
But thanks to breakthroughs in transplant medicine, that’s starting to change.
For the first time in history, a woman has given birth after receiving a uterus transplant from a deceased donor, report authors of a case study published this month in The Lancet.