Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania medical center, Penn Medicine, will soon begin clinical trials of a uterine, or womb, transplant.
The highly anticipated experimental procedure would allow women without a uterus due to the disease uterine factor infertility (UFI) a second chance at carrying a child, and even may offer transgender women born without the organ a chance to carry children as well.
The trial began recruitment on Monday, November 6, with the hope of finding three to five women to receive uterine transplants, The Inquirer reported.
Although the operation is still experimental, this is not the first time it has been attempted. It will mark the third clinical trial for a womb transplant in the U.S.
At the moment, the Penn Medicine team is looking to recruit women with UFI, a medical condition believed to affect around 5 percent of the female population, to take part in the trial.
Women with UFI are either born without a uterus completely, or need to have the organ removed via surgery as it does not function properly.
At the moment, these women are only able to become mothers via surrogacy or adoption. Candidates for the trial must be between 21 and 40 years old and in stable relationships that have lasted at least three years.
