Womb Transplant Baby Born — womb transplant baby born 'miracle' Hugo is first UK child from deceased donor womb

womb transplant baby born: Grace Bell, who is in her 30s and was born without a viable womb, has described the arrival of her son Hugo as "simply a miracle" after receiving a womb transplanted from a deceased donor. Hugo, who is now 10 weeks old, was born just before Christmas 2025 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in west London.

‘Miracle’ delivery and reaction

Bell said "words can't explain" the experience of having a baby and when Hugo was born she recalled: "It was simply a miracle. " She 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. " The birth prompted surgeons to describe the moment as "a ground-breaking moment" and the couple publicly paid tribute to the donor and her family for their "incredible gift" and to the medical teams in Oxford and London who supported their journey.

Womb transplants: how the process unfolded

Bell's womb transplant operation lasted 10 hours at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford in June 2024. Some months later the couple underwent IVF treatment and an embryo transfer at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London. When she received a phone call telling her a womb had been donated and a transplant was possible, Bell remembers being "in complete shock" and "really excited" while remaining acutely aware of the donor family's role in making the pregnancy possible.

Patient background and diagnosis

Grace Bell was born without a womb, does not have periods but does have normal ovaries, a condition called MRKH syndrome. The context states MRKH syndrome affects one in every 5, 000 women in the UK. Bell was told at the age of 16 that she would not be able to carry her own child, and the couple's only options were to hope for a womb transplant or to pursue surrogacy.

Pioneering womb transplant doctors' moment

Bryony Jones, consultant obstetrician at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, who has now delivered both babies born in the UK following womb transplants, said: "I have the best job – delivering any baby is really exciting. " She added: "But this baby was particularly special, especially as we had seen the patient right from the start. We had the whole of the team with us on that day, so it is very exciting, and we’re all delighted. " Jones said clinicians giving their time the charity Womb Transplant UK are honest with patients that "our knowledge – worldwide – isn’t great about this, and clearly it’s part of ongoing research, but lots of the skills that we have from having looked after other women are transferable and we are able to look after them. "

Clinical trial, staffing and technical limits

Bell's successful womb transplant from a deceased donor is one of 10 such transplants taking place as part of a UK clinical research trial; three transplants have already been carried out in that programme, but this is the first baby born from those procedures. Isabel Quiroga, consultant surgeon and clinical lead for organ retrieval at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals, has carried out both womb transplants in the UK. She said there is a "precious amount of time" when the organ can be used from a donor who has died and that the team thinks this time period is about 12 hours. Quiroga also warned: "This is a ground-breaking operation in the sense that we know, technically, there’s more failures internationally – early failures – after the transplant from the deceased than from the living. "

Women having womb transplants must undergo additional appointments and extra scans to monitor fetal growth and have regular blood tests. Overall, more than 30 expert staff are involved in looking after each womb transplant patient.

Weight, timing and names

Hugo was delivered in December at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital and was described as weighing nearly 7lbs in one account and as weighing 6lb 13oz (3. 1kg) in another. The baby is referred to as Hugo and as Hugo Powell in the available material. Grace Bell and her partner Steve Powell are from Kent. Bell said: "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. "

The sequence of events recorded in the context is: Bell's 10-hour transplant operation in June 2024 at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford; IVF treatment some months later and embryo transfer at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London; a pregnancy carried to delivery in December/just before Christmas 2025 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in west London; and Hugo being described as 10 weeks old in the material provided.

For Bell and Powell, the birth has been framed as both a personal milestone and a potential sign of hope for other women with a similar diagnosis.