Women to use her mother’s womb in Australian medical first transplant

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDOct 17 2011

A Victorian woman will be the first Australian to use her own mother’s womb after it has been transplanted into her. Intensive care nurse Melinda Arnold, 34, will undergo a womb transplant after her mother, Denise Allen, agreed to donate the organ to her. Mrs. Arnold, who was born without a womb but with ovaries that produce eggs, twice tried unsuccessfully to use her mother as a surrogate and adoption attempts also failed. Her and husband Andrew's last hope of becoming parents rest with Swedish doctors, who with the help of Australian colleagues, will perform one of the first  womb transplants next year.

Denise Allen said she worries about the risks, but knows her daughter is determined. Denise said, “She was three years old when she first expressed a desire to be a mother… It has been a long journey and both she and Andy have suffered a lot of sadness and disappointment.” The couple has been married for 12 years.

A decade ago, Mrs. Arnold's mother was given permission to act as a surrogate for her by the Victorian courts. Denise said, “I was devastated when the surrogacy didn't work…There was a bit of a feeling that I had failed her, but Melinda never saw it that way.” A third attempt, using a friend as the surrogate, also failed to achieve the desired pregnancy. The couple moved interstate hoping to adopt, but after almost three years gave up that dream and returned to Victoria.

Mrs. Arnold said, “I know some people see this as risky…If I had a child I would never take that risk, but I don't.” Mrs. Arnold said she would never forgive herself if she did not give it a go. “Mum and I talked about a transplant years ago, before we even knew if it would be possible,” she said.

The transplant team is being led by Mats Brannstrom, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Gothenburg University in Sweden, who was in Australia last week for a conference. He said most areas of infertility could now be treated, but not women irreversibly infertile due to a missing womb. Transplants are a solution, he believes. “Since the final aim is to accomplish motherhood, success should be measured by full-term pregnancies that result in healthy offspring,” he said.

The team wants patients and donors counseled independently so that they are aware of the risks and the chances of success. Mrs. Arnold would need to wait 12 months after the transplant before attempting a pregnancy through IVF. Frozen embryos would be created before the transplant to show a couple could conceive and the recipient would need to take immuno-suppressant drugs to stop rejection.

Queensland obstetrician and gynecologist Dr Ash Hanafy is working with Professor Brannstrom and said he would like to bring the surgery there to help more people like Mrs. Arnold.