Uterine Transplantation - Know Vital Information About It!

Every woman loves motherhood, but unfortunately for various reasons, some fail to conceive. One of the reasons for this is a diseased uterus and the second one is the absence of uterus. Women who are unable to conceive because of either diseased/absence of uterus have something to cheer up about. Modern medical science is so advanced that now the diseased uterus can be replaced by a healthy one, thereby, enabling the women to conceive. However, before undergoing this surgical procedure, it is only appropriate that women should understand the concept of uterine transplantation.

1. UFI: Under this surgical procedure, the diseased uterus is removed and it is replaced by a healthy one. This procedure is performed on women having a condition known as Uterus Factor Infertility (UFI). UFI is caused due to irreversible damage, either because of an infection or an injury to the uterus or for women born without a uterus.
2. Challenging surgical procedure: It is said that nearly 3% to 5% of women population suffer from UFI. This surgical procedure is considered to be very challenging because several blood vessels are connected to the uterus from the pelvic region. The surgeon has to accurately connect these blood vessels after the surgical procedure.

Some of the other important elements in uterine transplantation are briefly explained here:

1. The surgical procedure is divided into two. It starts with the retrieval of the damaged uterus, which normally takes about 2 to 3 hours. Thereafter, the transplantation procedure is performed, which takes about 5 to 6 hours.
2. The women donating their uterus should be in the reproductive age and should not have any medical complications. Further, the women receiving the uterus should be in the genetic recipient group and also should not have any medical complications.
3. The uterus should be healthy. The age of the uterus is not a matter of concern. Further, the uterus transplanted should have been gotten removed after begetting one or two children.
4. In the normal course, the recipient should undergo in vitro fertilisation treatment or IVF. This is because the transplanted uterus will not be connected to the fallopian tube, where the fertilisation of the egg takes place.
5. Women who had children previously or those who had suffered from endometriosis or cancer less than five years earlier, or women who had undergone major pelvic or abdominal surgery, or women with insufficient embryo will not be suited for uterus transplantation surgery.
6. Apart from these, it should also be ensured the procedure of transplantation is within the established legal framework of transplantation of human organs. Moreover, you should also consider the cost of the surgical procedure and various risk factors associated with this procedure.