Are pregnancies soon possible for men?

Birth after transplantation of the uterus of a dead donor

About a year ago, a baby was born in Brazil that developed into a uterus that had previously been transplanted by a 45-year-old woman dead. Normally, uterine transplants are received by living donors, severely limiting the availability of organs. The possibility that the uterus may be successfully preserved and transplanted by the deceased could change this in the future. In the future, this medical breakthrough will even allow pregnancy for hormone-treated men?

Scientists at the University of São Paulo have succeeded in performing a uterine transplantation of a dead donor, which eventually led to a successful pregnancy in the recipient of the organ. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "The Lancet".

Will the transplantation of the uterus of dead women in the future allow pregnancy for all genders? (Image: GordonGrand / fotolia.com)

Uterine transplants with dead organs?

Since 2014, so-called uterine transplants have been successfully performed. These organs came from living donors, so availability is severely limited. Now, if organs from dead donors can be successfully preserved and transplanted, this leads to a relaxation of the care allowance in women who are otherwise unable to conceive due to uterine problems. Before the fall in 2016, it was still unclear whether a uterus can give birth to a baby when the organ is removed after the death of the donor. The baby weighed 2.5 kg at birth on December 15, 2017, and the mother and child remained healthy after birth. The transplanted uterus was retrieved during birth. This gives reason to hope for women who, due to injury, illness, surgery (hysterectomy) or congenital conditions, would need a transplant to give birth to a child.

There have been discussions about assisted reproductive technologies for years

Of course, there is much discussion as to whether such a uterine transplantation of a dead woman is really meaningful and morally defensible. Since the early discussions about assisted reproductive technologies (such as IVF) in the 1920s, opinions about the impact on gender roles and especially women's choices have been shared. At that time there was the idea to perform a pregnancy in an artificial womb. This has been considered by some experts to be an emancipatory technology that frees women from the obligations of childbirth and its limitations. Women could only hope for social equality if they were freed from responsibility for birth, some physicians explained at the time. However, there were also researchers who believed that an artificial womb would break the mother-child bond and deprive women of their role.

Births for all sexes?

With the potential availability of pregnancies for so-called trans women and even cis-men (cisgenders) with hormonal treatments, uterine grafts can challenge social norms and prejudices by creating new family structures, scientists say. Few topics are more emotional than conception and parenting, which is why the possibilities and effects of uterine transplantation should be discussed openly, patiently and cautiously. (As)