UK's first womb-transplant baby born safely, marks medical milestone

In a historic medical achievement, Grace Davidson has become the first woman in the UK to give birth after receiving a womb transplant, offering new hope to women born without a uterus or with non-functional wombs.

Davidson, 36, gave birth to her daughter, Amy Isabel, via planned caesarean on 27 February at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London. The birth comes one year after Grace received a womb donated by her sister, Amy Purdie, during an eight-hour surgery in 2023.

The newborn’s name honours both her aunt, the womb donor, and surgeon Isabel Quiroga, who played a key role in refining the transplant procedure.

Davidson, who works as an NHS dietitian and lives in north London, was diagnosed as a teenager with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome - a rare condition affecting around 1 in 5,000 women, where the uterus is underdeveloped or absent. Despite having functioning ovaries, her diagnosis meant carrying a child was previously not possible.

Reflecting on the moment she first held Amy, Davidson said, “It was hard to believe she was real. I knew she was ours, but it just didn’t feel real until that moment.”

Davidson and her husband, Angus, had undergone fertility treatment prior to the transplant, resulting in seven frozen embryos. Months after the transplant, one embryo was implanted via IVF, leading to a successful pregnancy. Davidson was on immunosuppressants throughout to prevent her body from rejecting the transplanted womb.

Angus described the emotional moment of Amy’s arrival as overwhelming. “The room was filled with love — not just from us, but from all the people who helped make this possible. It was a long journey, and we finally let ourselves feel everything we’d been holding back.”

Purdie, 42, who has two daughters of her own, called the experience of helping her sister become a mother “an absolute joy” and said it had been “worth every moment” of the process.

The birth is the result of 25 years of dedicated research led by Prof. Richard Smith, clinical lead at Womb Transplant UK. Smith, who was present at the birth, called the moment “astonishing” and said, “After all these years of work and hope, seeing Amy Isabel arrive was beyond emotional.”

Three other womb transplants have been conducted in the UK using organs from deceased donors, with more patients awaiting IVF treatments. Around 10 additional women are currently being assessed for the £25,000 transplant procedure, supported by Womb Transplant UK, which has approval for 15 more operations - 10 from deceased donors and five from living donors.

Consultant surgeon Isabel Quiroga, who performed the transplant at Oxford University Hospitals, said, “It was an incredibly emotional experience. I’m overjoyed for Grace and Angus.”

Globally, over 100 womb transplants have been performed, resulting in at least 50 successful births. The first recorded case was in Sweden in 2014.