The first-ever womb transplant in the United Kingdom has been hailed as the “dawn of a new era” in fertility treatment, with surgery for trans women expected to be available “within the next 10 years.”
On Wednesday, British surgeons declared the treatment a “massive success” after a 40-year-old woman donated her womb to her sister.
Six months later, the 34-year-old womb recipient is having periods and prepares to have her own embryos implanted.
Last week, a transplant surgeon in the United States stated that “it is certainly medically possible” to do the surgery on trans women who were born male and have since changed gender through surgery.
Surgeons in the UK also believe that the procedure will be made available for trans women, though suspect it won’t be for another decade.
Professor Richard Smith, one of two leading surgeons on the operation, said there was not the proper technology in place currently to give “equal treatment” for trans women.
“We’re very aware that the 2010 Gender Equality Act mandates equal treatment for cisgender and transgender women,” he said.
“But that assumes technical feasibility. And in this case, currently, there is not technical feasibility.
He added: “My own sense is if there are transgender transplants that are going to take place, they are many years off. There are an awful lot of steps to go through.
“My suspicion is a minimum of 10 to 20 years.”
With a second womb transplant procedure slated for the end of this year, British surgeons are currently focused on the immediate future.
The first successful UK treatment, performed in February, cost approximately £25,000 and was funded by donations to the charity Womb Transplant UK.
It comes seven years after Sweden’s first successful womb transplant.
Since then, successful surgeries have taken performed in over ten countries, including the United States and Germany, resulting in the birth of about 50 infants.