British doctors are to give five women without wombs the ‘miraculous’ chance of giving birth to their own babies by 2017. They say the success of the world’s first birth from a transplanted womb – announced by Swedish medics on Friday night – has opened the door for the revolutionary technique to take place in the UK. Around 60 couples are now hoping British womb transplant pioneer Richard Smith, who has spent two decades working on the project, will be able to make their dreams come true. However, funding problems mean only five of them will see it happen in the near future. Scroll down for video . The first birth to a woman after a womb transplant has happened in Sweden, and now British doctors are to give five women without wombs the ‘miraculous’ chance of giving birth to their own babies by 2017 . Last night, Mr Smith, a consultant gynaecologist at London’s Hammersmith Hospital, said at least two couples had already frozen their own IVF embryos in preparation. The Swedish baby boy was delivered by caesarean section last month by Mats Brannstrom, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy. The baby’s mother, a 36-year-old competitive athlete, was born without a uterus but had her own ovaries which produced healthy eggs. In 2012, she received a uterus from a 61-year-old family friend. This January, the younger woman was implanted with an embryo created from her own egg and sperm from her partner. Although the baby was premature, he was perfectly healthy and discharged from hospital after ten days. Prof Brannstrom said it was ‘still sinking in that we have actually done it’. And Mr Smith, who has worked closely with the Swedish team, hailed the birth as ‘wonderful news’. He said: ‘We have known for some time that it is possible to successfully transplant a womb. But the big unknown has been whether it is possible for that womb to safely carry a baby. Now we know it can.’ He now hopes to secure approval from UK ethics committees by next summer to perform womb transplants himself. After transplant, each woman would have to wait a year to ensure the womb was not rejected before being implanted with embryos. That would mean the first British womb transplant births could take place in 2017. Mr Smith explained: ‘Because of what has happened in Sweden, it’s much more likely that an ethics committee would view our application favourably. ‘We have 60 women who want the procedure and there are at least two couples who have had embryos frozen in anticipation. Women who want to have this done are keen to drive the process forward.’ But funding problems mean only five women are likely to benefit in the short term. While the £550,000 Swedish programme – which has resulted in six viable pregnancies – has forged ahead thanks to a large research grant, British researchers have had to rattle tins. Mr Smith’s charity Womb Transplant UK now has £40,000 – but that is well short of the £500,000 it needs to fund surgery and immunosuppressant drugs. A big difference between the two programmes is that Prof Brannstrom’s approach has been to use living donors – including mothers, sisters, friends and even a mother-in-law – who volunteered to donate their wombs. British ethical boards see that as problematic, fearing those donating could suffer ill-effects in the process. Mr Smith’s team has therefore opted to take wombs from women on the donor register who have died young, employing the same principles and processes as used to retrieve donor hearts and lungs. Mr Smith said that could change if it becomes clear the risks to living womb donors is minimal. He and his colleagues believe up to 15,000 women of child-bearing age in the UK could benefit from womb transplants – either having been born without a uterus or having undergone a hysterectomy. Hundreds opt for surrogacy every year and many more chose adoption. Mr Smith added: ‘Given a choice, most women would rather carry and deliver their own baby. If you met the women who are born without wombs, or have had them removed, then you know what has driven me to work for 19 years on this. ‘These are people who have a deep need to have their own baby and deliver it themselves.’ Sophie Lewis, who was born without a womb, with her her boyfriend Tilden Lamb . 'To feel our own baby growing... it would be a gift' Sophie Lewis cried yesterday morning after hearing the news that, in a world first, a baby had been born to a woman who had undergone a womb transplant operation. ‘I was so emotional,’ said Miss Lewis, who was a teenager when she found out she had been born without a womb. ‘The Swedish birth is absolutely amazing. I was overwhelmed.’ She now hopes to become one of five women in Britain chosen to receive a womb transplant herself. ‘To feel your own child growing inside you would be a miracle,’ she said. ‘It would be an absolute gift, the most amazing gift ever.’ She does not have a uterus because of a rare genetic condition called Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser syndrome, or MRKH, which affects about one in 5,000 women. Miss Lewis, who will be 30 tomorrow, said: ‘When I was 16, I went to the doctor because I was not getting periods. I ended up seeing a gynaecologist and had an endoscopy, which revealed that I have no womb. ‘It was a surreal feeling to find that out. I obviously wasn’t think about having children at the time – I was doing my GCSEs – and I don’t think I really took it in.’ But as time passed, Miss Lewis, who lives in Surrey with her 37-year-old boyfriend Tilden Lamb, a recruitment consultant, naturally thought more about having children. Two years ago, she stumbled upon Richard Smith’s womb transplant programme while contacting surrogacy and adoption charities, offering to raise money by running the London Marathon. As Miss Lewis has her own ovaries, the operation holds out the hope that she will now be able to bear her own child. ‘It was really, really exciting to find out that a womb transplant was finally a possibility,’ she said. ‘We have all been waiting on the Swedish programme. We have not known what to expect. When I was 16, it was adoption or surrogacy and that was it. And now, 15 years down the line, there’s the possibility that I will have a womb transplant myself, which is really incredible. ‘That miracle is now a step closer.’
Five women born without wombs could give birth to own babies by 2017 .
Comes after Swedish boy became first to be born from transplanted womb .
Around 60 British couples are now hoping their dreams will come true .
At least two couple have already frozen IVF embryos in preparation .
Swedish baby boy was delivered by caesarean section last month .
Mother was born without uterus but had ovaries which produced eggs .
She received a uterus from a 61-year-old family friend and had healthy baby .
British doctors are to give five women without wombs the ‘miraculous’ chance of giving birth to their own babies by 2017. They say the success of the world’s first birth from a transplanted womb – announced by Swedish medics on Friday night – has opened the door for the revolutionary technique to take place in the UK. Around 60 couples are now hoping British womb transplant pioneer Richard Smith, who has spent two decades working on the project, will be able to make their dreams come true. However, funding problems mean only five of them will see it happen in the near future. Scroll down for video . The first birth to a woman after a womb transplant has happened in Sweden, and now British doctors are to give five women without wombs the ‘miraculous’ chance of giving birth to their own babies by 2017 . Last night, Mr Smith, a consultant gynaecologist at London’s Hammersmith Hospital, said at least two couples had already frozen their own IVF embryos in preparation. The Swedish baby boy was delivered by caesarean section last month by Mats Brannstrom, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy. The baby’s mother, a 36-year-old competitive athlete, was born without a uterus but had her own ovaries which produced healthy eggs. In 2012, she received a uterus from a 61-year-old family friend. This January, the younger woman was implanted with an embryo created from her own egg and sperm from her partner. Although the baby was premature, he was perfectly healthy and discharged from hospital after ten days. Prof Brannstrom said it was ‘still sinking in that we have actually done it’. And Mr Smith, who has worked closely with the Swedish team, hailed the birth as ‘wonderful news’. He said: ‘We have known for some time that it is possible to successfully transplant a womb. But the big unknown has been whether it is possible for that womb to safely carry a baby. Now we know it can.’ He now hopes to secure approval from UK ethics committees by next summer to perform womb transplants himself. After transplant, each woman would have to wait a year to ensure the womb was not rejected before being implanted with embryos. That would mean the first British womb transplant births could take place in 2017. Mr Smith explained: ‘Because of what has happened in Sweden, it’s much more likely that an ethics committee would view our application favourably. ‘We have 60 women who want the procedure and there are at least two couples who have had embryos frozen in anticipation. Women who want to have this done are keen to drive the process forward.’ But funding problems mean only five women are likely to benefit in the short term. While the £550,000 Swedish programme – which has resulted in six viable pregnancies – has forged ahead thanks to a large research grant, British researchers have had to rattle tins. Mr Smith’s charity Womb Transplant UK now has £40,000 – but that is well short of the £500,000 it needs to fund surgery and immunosuppressant drugs. A big difference between the two programmes is that Prof Brannstrom’s approach has been to use living donors – including mothers, sisters, friends and even a mother-in-law – who volunteered to donate their wombs. British ethical boards see that as problematic, fearing those donating could suffer ill-effects in the process. Mr Smith’s team has therefore opted to take wombs from women on the donor register who have died young, employing the same principles and processes as used to retrieve donor hearts and lungs. Mr Smith said that could change if it becomes clear the risks to living womb donors is minimal. He and his colleagues believe up to 15,000 women of child-bearing age in the UK could benefit from womb transplants – either having been born without a uterus or having undergone a hysterectomy. Hundreds opt for surrogacy every year and many more chose adoption. Mr Smith added: ‘Given a choice, most women would rather carry and deliver their own baby. If you met the women who are born without wombs, or have had them removed, then you know what has driven me to work for 19 years on this. ‘These are people who have a deep need to have their own baby and deliver it themselves.’ Sophie Lewis, who was born without a womb, with her her boyfriend Tilden Lamb . 'To feel our own baby growing... it would be a gift' Sophie Lewis cried yesterday morning after hearing the news that, in a world first, a baby had been born to a woman who had undergone a womb transplant operation. ‘I was so emotional,’ said Miss Lewis, who was a teenager when she found out she had been born without a womb. ‘The Swedish birth is absolutely amazing. I was overwhelmed.’ She now hopes to become one of five women in Britain chosen to receive a womb transplant herself. ‘To feel your own child growing inside you would be a miracle,’ she said. ‘It would be an absolute gift, the most amazing gift ever.’ She does not have a uterus because of a rare genetic condition called Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser syndrome, or MRKH, which affects about one in 5,000 women. Miss Lewis, who will be 30 tomorrow, said: ‘When I was 16, I went to the doctor because I was not getting periods. I ended up seeing a gynaecologist and had an endoscopy, which revealed that I have no womb. ‘It was a surreal feeling to find that out. I obviously wasn’t think about having children at the time – I was doing my GCSEs – and I don’t think I really took it in.’ But as time passed, Miss Lewis, who lives in Surrey with her 37-year-old boyfriend Tilden Lamb, a recruitment consultant, naturally thought more about having children. Two years ago, she stumbled upon Richard Smith’s womb transplant programme while contacting surrogacy and adoption charities, offering to raise money by running the London Marathon. As Miss Lewis has her own ovaries, the operation holds out the hope that she will now be able to bear her own child. ‘It was really, really exciting to find out that a womb transplant was finally a possibility,’ she said. ‘We have all been waiting on the Swedish programme. We have not known what to expect. When I was 16, it was adoption or surrogacy and that was it. And now, 15 years down the line, there’s the possibility that I will have a womb transplant myself, which is really incredible. ‘That miracle is now a step closer.’
their own babies by 2017. They say the success of the world’s first birth from a transplanted womb couples are now hoping British womb transplant their dreams come true. However, funding problems to give five women without wombs the ‘miraculous’ said at least two couples had already frozen their own IVF embryos in preparation. The Swedish baby boy was delivered by caesarean section last competitive athlete, was born without a uterus but had her own ovaries which produced healthy eggs. In 2012, she received a uterus from a 61-year-old family friend. This January, the