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Sarah Jane, KSL Newsradio Doctors in Saudi Arabia attempted the first uterus transplant back in 2000, but it didn't go so well. Now New York doctors are getting ready for the same procedure, this time with the womb of a dead woman. See any ethical eyebrows raised?
Plans to harvest the womb of a dead woman are not a part of the plot of some alien sci-fi movie. It's the future of fertility medicine. Saudi doctors performed a similar transplant back in 2000 from a living 46-year-old woman to a 26-year-old with ovarian cancer. The uterus lasted 99 days before giving out. Now a team of doctors in New York are on a quest for a candidate for a similar procedure, this time with a dead donor. But medical ethicist and University of Utah fertility doctor Matthew Petersen says this raises all sorts of ethical questions.
Dr. Matthew Petersen, Fertility, University of Utah: "The ethical question with this is whether a donor recognizes that part of those body parts might go to assist with reproduction."
The New York organ donor network recently took a six month survey. They found that only 9 out of 150 families were willing to donate their lost relative's uterus. But Petersen says there are also other concerns with the procedure.
Dr. Matthew Petersen, Fertility, University of Utah: "How the anasthamosis are created, how the uterus should be prepared, I know they are doing studies on how long a uterus can be used after it's harvested from the donor."
But do the risks of not enough research outweigh the benefits? We're talking the ability of a woman to produce life. Petersen says there are other, more well-researched options to infertility.
Dr. Matthew Petersen, Fertility, University of Utah: "Women who have lost their uterus and want to have a child can utilize a surrogate to carry out their pregnancy."
The transplant procedure could cost up to $500,000 and the New York team is still narrowing their search for the right candidate. But Petersen says he would be cautious to recommend the procedure to anyone until scientists know a lot more about what they're doing.
