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First time uterus transplantation in Germany
Physicians at the University Hospital Erlangen are planning the first uterine transplant in Germany. In other European countries such interventions have already taken place. Such operations can help women who were born without a uterus and can not fulfill their desire to have children.
If the desire for a child remains unfulfilled
With an unfulfilled desire to have a baby, couples are often the strangest methods. Some people say that it helps to stretch their legs after sex. However, researchers recently reported that this does not increase the chance of having a baby. Some women can be difficult or impossible to get pregnant anyway. For example, those who have no or too little uterus due to a genetic change from birth. However, a transplant could help them.
The University of Erlangen is currently planning the first uterine transplant in Germany. The procedure could help women born without a uterus to fulfill their desire to have children. (Image: Kzenon / fotolia.com) Woman with donor uterus gave birth to baby
In recent years, uterine transplants have been performed in various countries to help women achieve their desire to have children. In Europe, such interventions were made, in the UK, the first uterine transplant is planned. The gynecologist Mats Brännström showed transplants in Sweden that the surgery is feasible and promising. There, a woman with donor uterus got a healthy baby in 2014. In the meantime, five children have been born this way. Now also in Germany the first uterine transplantation is planned. Already next year, this could take place in the gynecological clinic of the University Hospital Erlangen.
A risky intervention
"We are currently preparing for the first uterine transplant. But first we have to get the necessary permits from the Bavarian Ministry of Health and train the intervention on the animal model ", explained clinic director Professor Dr. med. Matthias Beckmann in a message. It will take a few months until the first uterus in Erlangen can be transplanted. According to the doctor, a uterine transplant is a risky intervention - both for the potential organ donor and the recipient, as well as for the possibly later growing child. "That's why we have to carefully prepare and train the intervention of the team with vascular surgeons and plastic surgeons - especially how the donated uterus with artificial blood vessels can best be connected to the recipient's blood system," explained Professor Beckmann.
"Legislation drives women into illegality"
The physician is convinced that the risk is manageable and worthwhile. For the affected women, it is the only way to get their own child legally in Germany. "I'm not particularly risk-averse. But the legislation drives the women into illegality, "said the gynecologist with regard to the prohibition of surrogacy and egg donation in Germany. "These women can not help us with anything else right now. This means that we have to work on the only legal procedure. "A case from Upper Franconia shows how great the risk is for doctors. There, a reproductive medicine was sentenced to five years in prison last year, because he has used, among other things as part of a "fertility treatment" women the ova of foreign women. This is prohibited in Germany by the Embryo Protection Act (ESchG).
Thousands of women could benefit
According to a report by the news agency dpa, the intervention in Erlangen will cost an estimated 100,000 euros. Two groups in Heidelberg and Tübingen also planned such interventions. In Germany, about 5,000 to 10,000 women are affected. Even women who have lost their uterus after an oncological disease, could therefore be operated on. According to the agency, there are 500 to 1,000 cases a year. According to the information, the recipients should be between 25 and 40 years old.
Critics changed their mind
At the moment, it is still unclear whether the university hospital receives approval from the Free State. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health said that a decision "after careful consideration of all decision-relevant aspects will be met". Although the German Society for Reproductive Medicine (DGRM) rejected uterine transplants years ago, after the successes in Sweden, this has changed. And Claudia Wiesemann from the Institute for Ethics and History of Medicine at the University of Göttingen said: "All in all, I consider it ethically acceptable to try it out." (Ad)