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Review
. 2016 Jul;12(4):442-9.
doi: 10.1177/1745505716653849.

Uterus transplantation: From animal models through the first heart beating pregnancy to the first human live birth

Omer Ozkan  1 , Nasuh Utku Dogan  2 , Ozlenen Ozkan  1 , Inanc Mendilcioglu  3 , Selen Dogan  3 , Batu Aydinuraz  4 , Mehmet Simsek  3
Affiliations
Review

Uterus transplantation: From animal models through the first heart beating pregnancy to the first human live birth

Omer Ozkan et al. Womens Health (Lond). 2016 Jul.

Abstract

Absolute uterine factor infertility affects 3-5% of the general population, and unfortunately this condition is untreatable. There are some available options, including surrogacy or adoption, but neither of these suits each and every woman who desires to have her own genetic child. With recent advances in surgery and transplant immunology, uterus transplantation may be a source of hope for these women with uterine infertility. In the last decade, a number of animal species including rats, mice, rabbits, pigs, sheep, and primates have been used as experimental models, and pregnancies were achieved in some of these. Human data consist of 11 subjects yielding positive pregnancy results with no live births in the second trial from Turkey and, more fortunately, live births from the latest trial from Sweden. In the light of all these studies, uterus transplantation has been proven to be a viable option for women with uterine factor infertility.

Keywords: Absolute uterine factor infertility; deceased donor; infertility; uterus transplantation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Harvested uterus based on hypogastric vessels in a cadaver.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Transabdominal ultrasonographic view of intrauterine pregnancy at 7 weeks of gestation: CRL: 14 mm. CRL: crown-to-rump length.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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