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In the UK, a significant medical milestone has been reached with the birth of the first baby boy conceived using a womb transplanted from a deceased donor. Grace Bell, who was born without a functional womb due to a condition known as MRKH syndrome, gave birth to her son Hugo just before Christmas 2025. At nearly seven pounds, Hugo’s arrival at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London marks a breakthrough in reproductive medicine that offers hope to many women facing similar challenges.
Grace Bell and her partner Steve Powell, residents of Kent, expressed deep gratitude towards the donor and her family for their extraordinary generosity. Bell described her son as “simply a miracle” and regularly reflects on the “incredible gift” given to her by her donor, hoping the family finds peace in the knowledge that a part of their loved one lives on. Bell’s womb transplant surgery, which took place in June 2024 at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford, lasted ten hours. After her recovery, the couple underwent IVF and embryo transfer at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London, culminating in Hugo’s birth several months later.
This case forms part of a clinical research trial in the UK exploring womb transplants, including ten transplant procedures, three of which involved deceased donors like Bell’s, with Hugo being the first successful birth. Womb transplantation is relatively rare, with only around 100 procedures worldwide leading to the birth of more than 70 healthy babies so far. Surgeons involved in the trial emphasize the uniqueness of using wombs from deceased donors, which requires special consent from donor families beyond standard organ donation protocols.
The team behind the transplant has been working toward this achievement for many years. Prof Richard Smith, a consultant gynecologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust who has researched womb transplantation for over 25 years, attended Hugo’s birth. He highlighted the collective effort across medical teams from the transplant to delivery. The couple honored Prof Smith, founder of Womb Transplant UK, by giving Hugo the middle name Richard. After possibly having a second child, Bell’s transplanted womb will be removed to avoid the need for lifelong immunosuppressive medication. Transplant surgeon Dr. Isabel Quiroga expressed delight over the birth, viewing it as a milestone that could pave the way for womb transplants to become a routine option for women unable to carry pregnancies naturally
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