07 mars 2023
The second pregnancy obtained by a uterine transplant was carried to term. The baby was born on February 17 at the Foch Hospital in Suresnes. The mother, Déborah, gave birth to her first child using the same technique in 2021.
The second baby born thanks to a uterus transplant was born on February 17 at the Foch hospital in Suresnes (Ile-de-France). After 35 weeks of life in utero and 2,550 kg on the clock, the little Maxine was born. And joins his family, his parents. And her big sister Misha, born in 2021, also thanks to the uterine transplant from which the mother was able to benefit: Déborah, transplanted in 2019.
But why did the patient benefit from this technique? Because she suffers from uterine agenesis due to Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. A congenital disease characterized by the absence of a uterus*. This pathology constitutes the first cause of congenital absolute uterine infertility “, Underlines the High Authority for Health (HAS). In France, its prevalence is estimated at 1 in 4,500 births: ie 100 to 200 births each year in France, and a total of 20,000 women of childbearing age (18 to 40 years old) affected.
This feat on the infertility front is the result of the work of the team of Professor Jean-Marc Ayoubi, head of the department of gynecology, obstetrics and reproductive medicine at Foch Hospital and professor at the Simone Veil – UVSQ – Paris-Saclay.
How is a transplant performed?
The uterine transplant can be done from a sample from a living donation or from a deceased person. ” The donor uterus is thus grafted alone without ovaries or fallopian tubes, and positioned in the recipient’s pelvic cavity by being sutured to the recipient’s vagina “, describes the HAS. And how long does the operation take? It takes 5 hours on average.
And after ?
To date, uterine transplantation is not widespread in France. As the HAS reminds us, this technique still belongs to ” a recent area of growing research “. And remains accessible only within the framework of supervised clinical programs, deployed in centers with several services: “ an assisted reproduction center, an animal research center, a solid organ transplant center, a robotic surgery center, a maternity unit taking care of high-risk pregnancies, a team of psychologists, a uterine transplant research center and multidisciplinary consultation meetings “, specifies the HAS.
And the inclusion criteria remain strict The women who can benefit from it must be “ in good health without comorbidities, with a satisfactory ovarian reserve and without major surgical history “. A history of cancer remains a contraindication to prevent immunosuppressive treatments from reactivating cancer cells. Nevertheless ” some teams do not exclude a history of cancer but ask for a remission of at least 5 years “, emphasizes the HAS.
Finally, to date, the double donation of uterus and sperm remains prohibited in response to male and female infertility and/or homosexual couples. A point that could evolve in the years to come with the recent opening of the PMA to single women and couples of homosexual women “. A law in force in France since the revision of the bioethics law of August 2, 2021.
To note : a second uterus was transplanted into another patient in 2022. “Afflicted with the same syndrome, she benefited from the transplant of the uterus from her sister”specifies the team of Pr Ayoubi.
* Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is sometimes associated with the absence of at least two-thirds of the vagina
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Source : Foch Hospital, March 3, 2023 – High Authority for Health (HAS), site consulted on March 7, 2023
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Written by : Laura Bourgault – Edited by: Emmanuel Ducreuzet
