For many women, there is nothing more feminine than the ability to have a child. Several of them even dream of motherhood. This dream, however, is sometimes made impossible by ill health or malformation: every 5, 000 women are born with their ovaries, but without the womb.

That could change soon when a US clinic announces temporary uterine transplantation. In the coming months, the Cleveland Clinic hopes to be able to successfully implant the organ in women who do not have it or in cases where it has a problem. Of course there is always the possibility of adoption, but this is not an obligation. Many women, for personal, cultural or religious reasons, end up leaving the dream aside.

This technique already exists in Sweden, but still with limitations: of the nine women who underwent surgery, two had to remove the uterus due to clot problems and infection. However, four have already fulfilled the dream of having their own child, but all children were born prematurely. The next baby to be born with this innovative technique is expected in January 2016.

How the transplant would work: The troubled uterus would be replaced by a healthy donor, but it would be without ovarian connections.

Risks and Benefits

Of course, not everything is flowers ... In addition to the risky surgery, the woman who receives the organ should take numerous anti-rejection drugs, and pregnancy will be considered at risk. So experts are considering this as a temporary transplant: after a maximum of two pregnancies, the implanted uterus would be removed, and the woman could stop the medication.

The American clinic has already begun screening candidates for the procedure. So far, eight women are being followed for a possible transplant in the coming months. “They are informed of the risks and benefits and have a lot of time to think about it. Our job is to make the transplant as safe and successful as possible, ”doctor Andreas Tzakis, who is behind the innovation, told The New York Times.

Tzakis believes that anti-rejection drugs will not affect women with uterine transplants more than those who have become pregnant after receiving kidneys or livers, for example. In these cases, there is a higher risk of preeclampsia (a change in the mother's blood pressure) and of the baby being born slightly lower than average. However, it is not yet known what the real direct relationship of drugs with these events is.

First baby raised in a transplanted uterus born in Sweden in September 2014

Pregnant men?

With the possibility of implanting a healthy uterus in women who do not have it, it was obvious that the big question would arise: could men then undergo this type of procedure? Surprisingly, the experts explained yes!

Of course, the process would be even more complicated because, at first, it would be much more suitable for transgender women, that is, those born in a male body and are already in the process of gender adaptation. It would need to create a vaginal canal and reshape the entire structure of the pelvis to prepare the body for pregnancy. In addition, it would take a lot of hormones for the body to support the changes that occur during pregnancy - something that menopausal women already do when trying to conceive.

In either case (women, transgender, and, come on, men), pregnancy could not be 'natural': only the uterus would be implanted, with no connection to the fallopian tubes of those who already have them. Therefore, fertilization would be in vitro, with subsequent implantation of the embryo in who received the organ.

In theory, men can get pregnant too, but the process is very complicated and risky

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