A woman in Sweden has given birth to a baby boy using a transplanted womb, in a medical first, doctors report.
The 36-year-old mother, who was born without a uterus,received a donated womb from friend in her 60s.
The British medical journal The Lancet says the baby was born prematurely in September weighing1.8kg (3.9lb). The father said his son was "amazing".
Cancer treatment and birth defects are the main reasons women can be leftwithout a functioning womb.
If they want a child of theirown,theironly option is surrogacy.
Medical marvel The identity of the couple in Sweden has not been released, but it is knownthe mother still had functioning ovaries.
The couple went through IVF to produce 11 embryos, which were frozen. Doctors at the University of Gothenburg then performed the womb transplant. The donor was a 61-year-old family friend who had gone through the menopause seven years earlier.
Drugs to suppress the immune system were needed to prevent the womb being rejected. A year after the transplant, doctors decided they were ready to implant one of the frozen embryos and a pregnancy ensued.
The baby was born prematurely, almost 32 weeks into the pregnancy, after the mother developed pre-eclampsia and the baby's heart rate became abnormal.
Both baby and mumare nowsaid to be doing well. In an anonymous interview with the AP news agency, the father said:
"It was a pretty tough journey over the years, but we now have the most amazing baby.
"He's no differentfromany otherchild,but he will have a good story to tell.''
Two othermedical teams have attempted womb transplants before.
In one case, the organ became diseased and had to be removed after three months. Another case resultedin miscarriages.
Prof Mats Brannstrom, wholed the transplant team, described the birth in Sweden as a joyous moment.
"That was a fantastic happiness for me and the whole team, but it was an unreal sensation also because we really could not believe we had reached this moment.
"Oursuccess is based on morethan 10 years of intensive animal researchand surgical trainingby our team and opens up the possibility of treating many young females worldwide that sufferfromuterine infertility."
Liza Johannesson, a gynaecological surgeon in the team, said:
"It gives hope to those women and men that thought they would never have a child,that thought they were out of hope."
However, there are still doubts about the safety and effectivenessof the invasive procedure.
Dr Brannstrom and his team are working with another eight couples with a similar need. The results of those pregnancy attempts will give a better picture of whether this technique can be used more widely.
Dr Allan Pacey, the chairman of the British Fertility Society, told the BBC News website: "I think it is brilliant and revolutionary and opens the door to many infertilewomen.
"The scale of it feelsa bit like IVF. It feels like a step change. The question is can it be done repeatedly, reliably and safely."
The couple, fresh from celebrating the birth of their child, will soon have to decide if they want a second.
The drugs used to prevent the womb being rejected would be damaging in the long-term - so the couple will either try again or have the womb removed.
Culled from BBC
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.... How Robin Hood Come to Be an OUTLAW Long time ago in England. when good King Henry the Second ruled the land, there lived within the green leaves of Sherwood Forest. near Nottingham Town, a famous outlaw whose name was Robin Hood, No archer ever lived that shot an arrow with such skill and cunning as his. nor were there ever such lighters as the seven score merry men that roamed with hint through the greenwood shades. Merrily they lived within the depths of Sherwood Forest, with no care or want, but passing the time in merry games o farchery or bouts of stick fighting, eating the King's meat, washed down with alcohol brewed in October. Not only Robin himself but the entire band were outlaws and lived apart from other men, yet they were loved by the people around. for no one ever came to Robin for help in time of need and went away again with an empty hand. And now I will tell how Robin Hood became an outlaw. .... TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW...JOIN US TOMORROW FOR MORE ON THIS FUNNY AND EXCITING STORY }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
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