Richard Smith, the surgeon planning to carry out Britain's first womb transplant where patients will receive uterus from mother or sister, has set the two-year target and revealed that his medical team now plans to use living donors.
The first transplants will take place before the end of the year thanks to a pioneering medical technique, though £30,000 is needed for every patient.
Three women hoping to realise their dreams of motherhood, who are among 50 infertile patients on a waiting list of women for the pioneering operation will be chosen for the transplant.
Smith said “At last we are at a point that I wondered if we would ever reach.
“I have been involved in this project for 20 years, during which time we have experienced many setbacks. But what has kept me going are the times when I have found myself sitting opposite women who, for whatever reason, need a womb transplant."
“It is so humbling to hear what they’ve been through. As a father of four, I could not and would not want to imagine life without children.”
Doctors in the UK were granted approval to carry out Britain's first 10 womb transplants in 2015 using wombs from deceased donors whose hearts are still functioning.
But Mr Smith, a consultant gynaecologist who leads researchers at the charity Womb Transplant UK, said his team will now use both live and deceased donors.
