Features of a uterus transplant in a woman
Doctors at Oxford Hospital lately. Churchill performed the first successful womb transplant from a living donor in England. The case was described in an article published by the journal British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (BJOG).
The 40-year-old woman, who already has two children, donated her uterus to her 34-year-old sister. She could not have children because she was born without this organ. In total, the operation took more than nine hours. The recipient patient plans to have IVF later on.
“Humanity has little experience with womb transplants to women. And these operations are always associated with risks. Moreover, problems arise not only for the recipient woman, but also for the donor.
We are talking about infectious and vascular complications here,” said Marina Shcherbatykh, gynecologist and Candidate of Medical Sciences of the BestDoctor group of companies.
According to him, the transfer is only possible if the woman is going to give birth and does not want to seek the help of the surrogate mother. The truth is that the womb’s only function is reproduction, so women can live comfortably without this organ.
“Surgery is necessary if the woman has a uterine problem, for example if the uterus has been removed for cancer, or if the woman has congenital Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome. (a pathology in which a woman’s uterus is completely absent or underdeveloped) or other abnormalities. Then, the uterus is transplanted to the woman and if all is well, in vitro fertilization is performed using the patient’s own egg or the donor’s egg. Even women with any congenital anomalies can get eggs for IVF, ”explained Shcherbatykh.
The specialist explained that they prefer to use IVF for fertilization when transplanting a woman’s uterus because natural conception is problematic, pregnancy may not come quickly, and there is no guarantee that the embryo will be healthy.
“IVF is a guarantee of miscarriage risks of non-developing pregnancy or other anomalies. I would like to add that all the information we have shows that the uterus is removed after delivery. This is necessary so that the patient does not take drugs that do not allow rejection of the organ throughout his life. It is possible that in the long run the presence of a foreign organ in the body does not cause any complications, for example an immune response. The purpose of this surgery is to perform the reproductive function. As soon as this happens, the organ needs to be removed, ”said the gynecologist.
Can a man give birth too?
After the news of a womb transplant after such a few successful operations spread, the media made headlines that men can give birth, too.
In fact, these conversations are about a hundred years old.
The first such operation was performed on a man who decided to switch transgender in 1931. Lili Elbe, a Danish trans woman born as Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener, has had four gender reassignment surgeries.
In one of them, her testicles were removed, followed by a series of surgical interventions for the implantation of the uterus. After them, Lily Elbe died of rejection.
But for almost a hundred years, medicine has taken a big step forward. The moment has come when men can truly have a womb suitable for having children. According to this some doctorsIn 10-20 years, such operations will be possible.
“Actually, it is possible to transplant a womb to a man. Moreover, instead of using another person’s organ, the uterus can even be bioprinted. Modern bioprinting technologies make it possible to do this. But whether it will function in the male body is a big question.
In order for the body to function normally, hormonal changes are needed, the endocrine system must work according to the female type. Therefore, he will no longer be a man, but a transgender.” Head of the departments of human anatomy and histology at Sechenov University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and normal and topographic anatomy of Moscow State University. Lomonosov, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation Vladimir Nikolenko.
According to the expert, the uterus is not just a hollow organ made up of muscles. his endometrium (the inner mucous membrane of the body of the uterus, covers the surface and is abundantly supplied with blood vessels)) has the unique property of cyclically changing its morpho-functional state during the menstrual cycle.
“In the process of conception, the egg sticks only to the endometrium prepared for it, but menstruation is by definition impossible for men, and therefore there will be no pregnancy. Doctors will have to prepare and create the necessary conditions for artificial fertilization by giving hormones and changing the hormonal background, ”explained Nikolenko.
NCC No. According to the obstetrician-gynecologist socialbites.ca, head of the gynecology department of the 1. academic BV Petrovsky, doctor of medical sciences Vardan Vardanyan, first you need to fine-tune the method of transplantation for women and only then deal with men.
“A male womb transplant is not possible at this stage. Because methods for performing the operation and preparing the patient for the intervention have not been developed. For example, if we consider the issue of feeding the uterus through veins, it is important to understand which veins should be taken for this. Of course, you can also remove major major vessels such as the femoral artery that will be brought to the uterus as a result of the operation,” Vardanyan said.
Men will also need to undergo a procedure to remove the organs that secrete androgens (male sex hormones), namely the testicles. In addition, the patient will need to take hormonal drugs – without this, pregnancy will not occur.
“You can also find a place for the uterus. Since this organ cannot be found elsewhere, it can only be located in the small pelvis. Physiological progression of the uterus will occur during pregnancy, so this is only possible here,” noted the doctor.
How does a man give birth to a child?
It is theoretically possible to transplant a uterus to a man, but I don’t think it will be possible in the coming years. While everything is in the clinical trial phase, this operation is not performed on the air. The transition to men is still difficult, as a broad clinical base has not yet been gathered. One thing is clear – a man is going to need a massive amount of hormone therapy. This is a male body, so it is difficult to say how in general it will be compatible with pregnancy, whether the fetus will develop normally, ”said Shcherbatykh.
For example, the risk of developmental abnormalities increases if the fetus is exposed to large amounts of testosterone during pregnancy. We’re talking specifically about autism.
“The uterus is a fruit-bearing place, but for the correct development of the child, a good hormonal infrastructure is needed as well as the right vascular nutrition. The female pelvis is already equipped with blood for the nourishment of the uterus and ovaries. It is unknown if a man can transplant the womb and whether he will be able to nourish it in sufficient quantity. In addition, the woman’s organs move under the growing uterus, the bones are separated from each other. Could this happen to a man? That’s hard to say,” Shcherbatykh concluded.
The general decision of the experts interviewed by socialbites.ca is as follows: It is technically possible to transplant a uterus to a man.
Of course, such a man will have to practically transform into a woman in order to have children, but at the moment there are no insurmountable obstacles to such transformations.
So in the next ten years, perhaps humanity will encounter the first person who gave birth and gave birth to a child on its own.