The first baby in the UK to be born from the womb of a deceased person

Sky News On February 24, it was reported that baby Hugo was born by cesarean section, weighing 3.1 kg at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital (London) last December. This is a rare medical achievement as Europe has only recorded two similar cases. Previously, the UK announced a birth from a living donor’s uterus last year.

The baby’s mother, Grace Bell, an information technology project manager in her 30s, has Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. This rare condition causes her reproductive organs to not develop, depriving her of her natural ability to become a mother since childhood. The Bell couple had planned to use a surrogate mother before learning about the organ transplant program.

In 2024, doctors performed a 7-hour uterus transplant surgery for Bell. After several months of recovery, she began in vitro fertilization. To keep the fetus, the mother must take anti-rejection medicine continuously. Doctors plan to remove this uterus after the family gives birth to a second child, helping Bell stop depending on medication for life.

The mother described the birth of her son as a miracle she had never dreamed of. During the moment of labor, she held her husband’s hand tightly, trying to see through the medical curtain to pick up her child. Mr. Steve Powell, the child’s father, shared his broken emotions, wanting to cry but not being able to when witnessing the “miracle” after a long journey.

The couple decided to give their child the middle name Richard to pay tribute to Professor Richard Smith, head of the charity organization Womb Transplant UK and directly managing the transplant. The professor said he burst into tears with emotion when he held baby Hugo and learned that the family named the child after him.

Besides the happiness of the small family, there is a noble gesture from the donor. The deceased woman not only donated her uterus but also donated 5 other organs, saving the lives of 4 patients. The donor’s family shared that, despite the extreme pain of their loss, they found comfort in the fact that their daughter chose to end her life with her great contribution to medicine. Bell expressed immense gratitude and affirmed that her son will grow up with the story of the deceased’s kindness.

Donating a uterus from a deceased person is more complicated than regular organs. Even though the deceased has registered to donate organs (heart, liver, kidney…), doctors are still required to consult and receive separate consent from the family before being allowed to remove the uterus. In the world, there are currently about 25 to 30 babies successfully born thanks to uterus transplantation from deceased donors.