A baby has been born after its mother received a womb transplant from a deceased donor at a London hospital.
Hugo Powell was delivered via Caesarean section at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, in December, weighing 6lb 13ox (3.1kg).
He has become the first child to be born from a womb transplant involving a deceased donor in the UK, with only two previous cases ever reported in Europe.
Hugo’s mother, Grace Bell, an IT programme manager, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition leading to an underdeveloped or missing womb.
She was first diagnosed when she was 16. Now, in her 30s, her and her husband Steve Powell initially decided to proceed with surrogacy before learning of the womb transplant programme.
She told the Press Association: “It's simply a miracle. I never, ever thought that this would be possible.
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
Ms Bell added: "I remember waking up in the morning and seeing his little face, with his little dummy in, and it felt like I needed to wake up from a dream.”
Mr Powell said:”From where we started - first meeting - to where we are today, with Hugo, is nothing short of a miracle after everything we've been through”.
Ms Bell said she thinks of her donor family every day, adding that their “kindness and selflessness to a complete stranger” is the reason she was able to “fulfil [her] lifelong dream as a mum”.
"This isn't a life-saving donation but it is a life-giving one,” she said.
Five of the womb donor’s other organs were also transplanted to save the lives of four others.
The family of the donor said: "Losing our daughter has shattered our world in ways we can barely put into words.
"The grief is overwhelming and the ache of her absence is something we will carry forever.
"Yet even in this unimaginable pain, we've found a small measure of solace in knowing that her final act, her choice, was one of pure generosity.
"Through organ donation, she has given other families the precious gift of time, hope, healing and now life.”
The baby, Hugo Richard Norman Powell, shares his middle name with the clinical lead of Womb Transplant UK and consultant gynaecological surgeon Professor Richard Smith.
Professor Smith told PA: "It's been an unbelievable journey. Our whole team has been hanging together now for years and years to make this happen.
"As the baby was handed over, the parents said they were actually going to call the baby Hugo Richard. I've delivered over 1,000 babies in my life. Never has a baby been named after me.
"That did make me cry, straight up. It's been quite emotional, very emotional."
More than two thirds of womb transplants generally involve living donors, while a third come from deceased donors. It is estimated that around 25 to 30 babies have been born worldwide from deceased womb donation.
Isabel Quiroga, consultant surgeon and clinical lead for organ retrieval at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals, carried out the seven-hour womb transplant on Ms Bell in 2024.
Several months later, Ms Bell underwent fertility treatment at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London.
Miss Quiroga said: "It has been a long journey, and certainly we are delighted, especially for our patient, who's been in our programme for a good number of years.
"Her dream has been to be a mother, so we are totally elated."
Miss Quiroga said the donor family's decision to donate their daughter's organs "saved multiple lives".
She added: "In deciding to also then donate her womb, they have also helped to create a new life. This is extraordinary and we now have a healthy baby boy."
Ms Bell and Mr Powell may decide to have a second baby, after which surgeons will remove the transplanted womb.
If the womb was left in situ, Ms Bell would be required to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of her life. These drugs can carry risks when taken long-term.
The charity Womb Transplant UK has now paid and performed five womb transplants so far - two using a living donor and three with a deceased donor.
Two babies have been born, with three still undergoing IVF treatment. Hugo is one of those babies. The other baby was born to another mother living with MRKH, Grace Davidson.
She received a womb from her older sister in a living donation.
Transplants from deceased donors only happen when the families of those who have died are asked specifically if they wish to donate the womb.
