Despite already adopting three children, Lindsey, a 26-year-old Texan, still wanted to experience natural childbirth. The issue though for Lindsey, who withheld her last name from the press, was born without a uterus. Thankfully we live in an age of medical wonder. Last month Lindsey became the recipient of the first uterus transplant in the US.
The surgery took place at Cleveland Clinic hospital in West, Fla. and lasted nine hours. After waiting for nearly two years to completely heal, Lindsey will be able to carry a child after receiving in vitro fertilization.
Although the immediate benefits of the transplant are clear, medical ethicist Art Caplan is still weary of the surgery and the complications that it can cause.“All of a sudden you have four operations to deliver a baby,” said Caplan on Boston Public Radio Wednesday.
“So you have to remove the uterus, let’s say it is a living donation from a sister or a mom, that’s one operation. Then you need to put it in the women, that’s two operations. The uterus isn’t strong enough when you put it in, so you have to do a c-section, three operations. Then you got to take it out of the recipient because it is going to be rejected unless you keep giving the recipient immunosuppressive drugs… that’s a lot of safety issues, ” Caplan says.
Any children born from a transplanted uterus also risk a high chance of being born premature. Caplan points out that it would be easier and safer for women to hire a surrogate or ask a family member to carry the child.
In addition to the medical uncertainty, the price of the procedure is considerably high. “I am going to estimate we are in the $100,000 range,” says Caplan.
