The UK has celebrated the arrival of its first miracle baby born after a womb transplant, marking a historic moment in reproductive medicine.
Hugo Powell was born in December, weighing 6lb 13oz (3.1kg), to Grace Bell and Steve Powell, following a womb transplant from a deceased donor at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
Grace Bell, diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome at age 16, described Hugo’s birth as “simply a miracle.” She said, “I never, ever thought that this would be possible.
I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. Since I was 16, I never thought this was going to be possible. So it really is a miracle. It just felt quite unreal at the time, because this has been a long journey for us both.”
Recalling the first moments with her son, 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.”
She also spoke of her donor every day: “There are no words to say thank you enough to my donor and her family. I hope they know that my child will always know of their incredible gift, and the miracle that brought him into this world.”
Ms Bell reflected on the enduring bond with the donor, saying, “I think of my donor and her family every day and pray they find some peace in knowing their daughter gave me the biggest gift, the gift of life.
A part of her will live on for ever.” Womb transplants from deceased donors require specific family consent, separate from general organ donation, as they are not covered by standard organ donor registration or deemed consent.
Hugo’s birth is the first in the UK to follow a transplant from a deceased donor. The donor, whose identity remains private, also saved other lives, as five additional organs were transplanted into four recipients.
The donor’s parents 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.”
The seven-hour transplant was carried out in 2024 by Isabel Quiroga, consultant surgeon and clinical lead for organ retrieval at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals.
Following the procedure, Ms Bell underwent fertility treatment at the Lister Fertility Clinic in London. While the couple may consider having a second child, surgeons plan to remove the transplanted womb eventually to avoid lifelong immunosuppressant therapy, which carries health risks.
Womb Transplant UK has performed five womb transplants to date in the country—two from living donors and three from deceased donors. So far, two babies have been born, while three other recipients are undergoing private IVF.
Dr Quiroga said, “They have functioning transplants. So far, we haven’t had any technical failures – and they are at different stages with IVF and embryo transfer.”
In 2023, another UK patient, Grace Davidson, became the first recipient of a womb transplant from a living donor—her older sister Amy. Davidson gave birth to Amy Isabel Davidson in February last year, demonstrating that both living and deceased donor transplants can help women with MRKH syndrome become mothers.
Becky Clarke, regional head of nursing for the Midlands and South Central organ donation teams at NHS Blood and Transplant, explained the careful consent process for womb donation.
“Our specialist nurses for organ donation are highly trained, experienced nurses who will speak to families at the time their loved one has sadly died, and approach them around organ donation.
They will check whether the person is on the organ donor register, and then speak with the family and see whether it’s something they’re in agreement with. Once we’ve ascertained that, then we would seek further consent from the families, and approach them if they want to consider, as an extra consent, to womb donation.”
Clarke added that families are overwhelmingly positive about the opportunity. “Our experience of approaching the small number of families is the vast majority have immediately wanted to agree. They think it’s a wonderful thing to do. We are very grateful to any families who choose to give the additional consent for donation to this programme.”
Hugo Powell’s birth represents a major UK fertility breakthrough. For women with MRKH syndrome or other uterine conditions, the procedure offers hope for motherhood that was once impossible. As Ms Bell reflected, “It just felt like a dream come true, and now that dream is our reality.”
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