Will Womb Transplants Be The New Treatment For Infertility?

A new answer for infertile women may be soon on its way as the first womb transplant in
the United States may take place later this year. The idea of a womb transplant is
nothing new; research has been conducted for several years, including successful lab
experiments on mice born from transplanted wombs. Saudi Arabia in the year 2000 made an attempt at a womb transplant, but complications arose. Now seven years later doctors feel that they are ready to try again. Whether or not we are truly ready brings up a big debate. The entire process of a womb transplant would be far from simple. Even if the surgery were to go smoothly, the woman would need to wait 3 months before implantation. She also must give birth by caesarean section, have the womb surgically removed after birth, and take anti-rejection drugs throughout the pregnancy. Clearly there are many variables that may or may not have been heavily weighed in. Another factor to consider, as with all transplants, is the issue of immune rejection. One consideration that has been made is the thought of using family members, such as a mother or sister, because close relations are more likely to have good immune compatibility. While this may sound good, an unsettling thought is if a woman were to use her mother’s uterus, it means the womb where she carries a child is the same womb in which she was developed. One may question if this new technology is necessary. Yes, some women are born without the ability to conceive and have a child, but there are alternatives, such as adoption, that could be taken instead of this surgery. 40,000 eligible children remain unadopted each year, just in the United States. Instead of a risky surgery for a woman to give birth to a child, where there are risks posed to the mother and the baby, she could provide a loving family to one of the unadopted children in this world. Still, while some argue that womb transplants may be unethical, this would be an incredible advance in technology to allow infertile women the opportunity to give birth. And while many may be quick to judge whether this is right or wrong, I think it is the women with bodies that deny them the right to give birth who should have a strong vote in this case.

Sources:

http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/FPinHTML/FocalPointSP01/pgFPsp01Human.shtml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3035628.stm

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3892