Uterus procurement from deceased donor for transplantation

Abstract

Summary Women with absolute uterine factor infertility cannot get pregnant. The current experience in uterine transplantation is limited and the use of a deceased donor uterus in this area is incipient after some initial unsuccessful attempts. The birth of healthy babies through this modality in four different centers has given a new impetus to the use of this transplantation technique. We aimed to develop a technique for uterus procurement and preparation for transplantation from a brain dead donor. Fifteen uteri were retrieved from multi‐organ donor patients, 10 of these were used in bench surgeries with the proposed technique. All procedures were performed after obtaining family's consent. This study allowed the clinical use of two of the 15 organs that were procured for transplantation. One of these organs resulted in the first live birth worldwide using a uterus transplanted from a deceased donor, a landmark in reproductive medicine. Another outcome was the optimization of the surgical technique involving less manipulation of the uterine vascular pedicles. The success of this novel technique suggests that the proposed model can be replicated and optimized further to facilitate the transplantation of uterus from deceased donors.

Bladder Transplantation: The New Frontier in Abdominal Organ Transplantation

“…In summary, dual kidney and bladder transplantation presents a logical intervention for patients on renal replacement therapy with neurogenic bladder who require bladder augmentation prior to kidney transplantation. The successful transplantation of a uterus from a deceased donor, another muscular pelvic organ, corroborates the feasibility of this approach 4 , 6 , 10 . Bladder transplantation, in conjunction with kidney transplantation, may represent the next frontier in abdominal organ transplantation.…”

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Motivations of Women Seeking a Uterus Transplant

“…This will involve retrieval of the uterus during a multi-organ retrieval from a brainstem dead donor. The feasibility of this procedure has been proven with 18 cases and five livebirths published [ 1 ]. The INSITU trial was in active recruitment phase and was live with the UK national organ donation network prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”