Womb Transplant Baby Born: womb transplant baby born in UK after deceased donor surgery

Grace Bell said "words can't explain" the experience of having a baby after a womb transplant, as a womb transplant baby born in the UK marks a milestone for pioneering surgery. The baby boy, Hugo, is now 10 weeks old and his parents have paid tribute to the donor family and the teams who supported the family through treatment and birth.

Womb Transplant Baby Born in London

The child, identified as Hugo and also named Hugo Powell in some accounts, was born in December just before Christmas 2025 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in west London. Accounts list his birth weight as nearly 7lbs and also as 6lb 13oz (3. 1kg). The birth followed a pregnancy carried in a womb transplanted from a deceased donor.

The transplant and IVF timeline

Bell's womb transplant operation lasted 10 hours and took place at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford in June 2024. Some months after that operation the couple underwent IVF treatment followed by embryo transfer at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London. The transplant from a deceased donor was one element of a wider UK clinical research trial involving 10 such transplants; three transplants have already been carried out and this birth is described in some accounts as the first baby born linked to those transplants.

Mother's reaction and gratitude

Grace Bell, who is in her 30s and was born without a viable womb, said her little boy Hugo is "simply a miracle. " Bell was born without a womb, does not have periods but does have normal ovaries, a condition named MRKH syndrome that affects one in every 5, 000 women in the UK. She was told at age 16 that she would not be able to carry her own child. When she received a phone call saying a womb had been donated and a transplant was possible, she remembers being "in complete shock" and "really excited. "

Bell and her partner Steve Powell, from Kent, paid tribute to the "kindness and selflessness" of the donor and her family for their "incredible gift, " and thanked the medical teams in Oxford and London who supported their journey. A photograph caption in published material also refers to Grace Bell and Steven Powell with their baby son Hugo.

On the day of Hugo's birth Bell said: "It was simply a miracle. 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. " She also 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. "

Clinical team and procedures

Surgeons involved called the birth "a ground-breaking moment" that could give hope to many more women with a similar diagnosis. Isabel Quiroga, consultant surgeon and clinical lead for organ retrieval at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals, is named among the clinicians who has carried out both womb transplants in the UK. She said there is a "precious amount of time" when an organ from a donor who has died can be used and that the team thinks this time period is about 12 hours. Quiroga also noted that technically there have been more early failures internationally after transplants from deceased donors than from living donors.

More than 30 expert staff are involved in looking after each womb transplant patient, and women who undergo uterine transplant must attend additional appointments, receive extra scans to monitor fetal growth and have regular blood tests. Bryony Jones, a consultant obstetrician at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, who has delivered both babies born in the UK following womb transplants, described the delivery team as delighted and said "I have the best job – delivering any baby is really exciting, " adding that this baby was particularly special because the team had seen the patient from the start.

Jones and other clinicians who give their time voluntarily the charity Womb Transplant UK emphasise honesty with patients about limited worldwide experience in caring for women who have had uterine transplants, while noting that many skills from managing other organ transplant recipients and complex pregnancies are transferable to this work.

Research trial and future implications

The case sits within a UK clinical research trial of 10 womb transplants. Published material states three transplants have already been carried out as part of that trial, and this birth is highlighted in accounts as a significant medical achievement following a successful pregnancy carried in a transplanted womb.

The couple and clinicians alike described strong emotions at the birth and highlighted the combined role of the donor family's gift, surgical teams, fertility treatment and dedicated post-transplant care in bringing Hugo into the world.

Closing: The birth of Hugo after a deceased-donor womb transplant, following a 10-hour operation in June 2024 and IVF treatment at The Lister Fertility Clinic, remains framed by Bell and her partner's gratitude to the donor family, the declared technical challenges noted by clinicians and the ongoing clinical research trial involving 10 transplants.