Coffs Harbour mum Kirsty Bryant has become the first person in Australia to undergo a uterus transplant as part of a research trial at The Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney.
The 30-year-old underwent the landmark surgery after receiving a uterus donated by her mother, Michelle Hayton.
"I feel incredibly lucky that not only did I get accepted into the trial but mum and I have now been the first," she said.
Ms Bryant applied for the clinical trial after she lost her uterus in a life-saving hysterectomy.
She needed the emergency procedure after suffering a major haemorrhage during the birth of her daughter, Violet.
"After my hysterectomy I obviously was unable to carry another pregnancy," Ms Bryant said.
She said she started looking at her options about six months after giving birth and found a clinical trial at the Royal Hospital for Women.
Her mother said it was an easy decision to be her daughter's donor.
"She called me and she said to me 'hey mum, hypothetically if you could have a hysterectomy and I could have your uterus, would that be something you would do'," Ms Hayton, 53, said.
"I didn't hesitate, I straight away said, 'yep, that's not a problem'.
"Kirsty's not just my daughter, she's my best friend and I love her so much."
The successful surgery, which happened on January 10, meant Ms Bryant could potentially give birth to a baby from the same womb in which she was formed.
Australian first
The surgeries lasted more than 16 hours and involved a team of more than 20 medical professionals.
Swedish surgeon Mats Brännström, who performed the world's first successful uterus transplantation which led to a live birth, supervised both operations.
The Royal Hospital for Women gynaecologist Jason Abbott said many years of hard work and research had led to the clinical trial in Australia.
Uterus transplants are designed to be temporary and last about five years, giving a woman enough time to have children.
More than 70 successful procedures have been performed globally.
Dr Abbott said Ms Hayton's surgery was the "hardest job of the two", lasting roughly 10 hours.
"This was nothing like any hysterectomy I've done," he said.
The Royal Hospital for Women has approval to conduct six uterine transplant surgeries as part of the clinical trial, which is expected to run for three years.
Funds for the surgery were raised through donations.
The team hopes to raise enough money to perform a further transplant procedures.
Looking forward
Ms Bryant has six embryos in storage at the Royal Hospital for Women's Fertility and Research Centre.
"I very, very luckily got my period 32 days post-operation," Ms Bryant said, despite being told it could take three months.
"That's obviously the first step to being able to start planning for an embryo transfer, we are hoping sort of middle of this year, all going well."
Dr Abbott said the next step was to determine if the new uterus could successfully carry a baby.
"That’s the ultimate proof of response," he said.
"It's not about having a period, it's about having a baby."
Ms Bryant hoped the successful surgery would pave the way for other women struggling with their fertility journey.
"I'm just incredibly grateful that in Australia we are moving towards this sort of research and hopefully giving other women options," she said.
"A lot of people go through their life thinking they can't carry a baby and now this gives them options," Ms Hayton said.
Ms Bryant said while her relationship with her mother had always been strong, the transplant had brought the pair even closer.
"I knew she was incredibly brave and selfless but this has just shown the rest of the world and Australia how brave and selfless she really is," she said.
