First live offspring from surgically implanted uterus.

Mice with transplanted wombs have given birth to healthy pups – the first time that live offspring have been produced from a surgically implanted uterus.

Researchers hope the technique will benefit women who currently cannot bear children because their wombs are damaged or missing.

“A woman could receive a donor uterus from a relative – a mother or sister who has finished having children,” says Mats Brännström from the Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University in Sweden whose team pioneered the therapy in mice. Fertilised embryos would then be implanted into the womb.

Womb transplants could help up to 4% of infertile women – an estimated 1,000 people in Sweden alone, claims Brännström. This includes people who have had their uterus removed after an infection, cancer or during emergency operations. The technique could also provide an alternative to surrogacy.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology in Madrid, Brännström described how his team gave 12 mice wombs from genetically identical animals. Three days later they implanted up to six embryos into each uterus. Three-quarters developed into normal, fertile pups. The mothers also remained healthy, and the transplanted organs were not rejected.

Wombs grafted into mice of different strains failed after just a week. Using tissue from family members might minimize the risk of rejection, suggests Brännström, but women would still need to take immunosuppressants.

However long-term use of anti-rejection medication can make patients prone to viral infections, and raise the risk of blood cancer. Once a woman has finished having her family, she could stop immunosuppressive therapy and have the uterus removed, counters Brännström.