14 DAY TRIAL // The "in vitro" babies could be very odd in the future, as the advance of implant techniques could provide to the womb-damaged child-desiring women a new healthy uterus.
A New York team at Downtown Hospital is planning to carry on this novel transplant type.
Women with damaged or removed wombs could develop a pregnancy and give birth using a womb from a death woman donor.
A previous attempt was made in Saudi Arabia in 2000, with a womb from a live donor, but the transplant was rejected after three months.
In case of success, the New York team would bring new hope to millions of women worldwide, many having their wombs removed due to cancers.
The researchers investigated in the last six months ways to remove wombs from deceased donors, finding it similar to heart, kidney and liver removals for transplant.
The donated uterus will be inserted into the recipient woman through an incision below the navel.
The recipient will be implanted with previously harvested and frozen embryos into the new uterus, which would be fit for the development of the pregnancy to develop.
The baby will be born by C-section and the implanted womb removed to decrease the risk of tissue rejection.
"Transplant medicine has improved sufficiently to allow us to consider non-vital transplants," said Dr Giuseppe Del Priore, project leader.
"That is why we are talking about face, hands, and other things as well."
Some physicians are circumspect.
"At any time during the nine months of pregnancy it could very easily reject, and if a pregnant uterus rejects you have got a serious medical problem," said Dr Sherman Silber, an infertility expert from St Louis.
The New York team hopes the risks could be minimal and this surgery could be the last chance for many infertile women to give birth to their own child.
By now, the team has chosen 40 to 50 possible patients, but the surgery is not expected "any time in the near future".