Trans woman seeks uterine transplant

[MarieDelta]

Sarah Luiz of The Colony, who’s no stranger to the media spotlight, aims to be world’s 1st trans mom

THE COLONY — Each of us has a story or a script that we fashion and live our lives by. When it takes us down the wrong path, we rewrite the script from a wiser place, and navigate closer and closer to our truth. Sarah Luiz says she knows in her heart of hearts that she’s living a life true to her being — which is why she feels confident she’ll be the first transgender woman to give birth.

Luiz knows it won’t be an easy path. She knows there will be resistance all the way. But she’s a strong woman shaped by life trials very few have endured, and she believes it’s her rightful place and time, at age 44, to become a mom.

To many this may seem as if it’s going too far, and it will require a uterine organ transplant — a controversial and dangerous operation. Doctors are only beginning to perfect this surgery, and no human has become pregnant with a transplanted uterus.

But Luiz has begun the medical candidacy interview process, and she says New York doctors at Downtown Hospital are looking her way.

“They need to have the right person,” she says. “ If you did this with a woman, amazing. If you do this with a transgender woman, it will receive a lot of attention.”


http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_12349.php

Interesting.

[FalconAngel]

Interesting. If it works, then it will open a whole new world for trans folks.

[Long Duck Dong]

based around what I have read in the article, I seriously question the reasoning behind this......

we bear a mortal responsibility to that child, for their well being and best interests....and I am not seeing that in the words of sarah luiz.... I am seeing, * its my right, my time " and lil if any concern over the risks, dangers and future issues for the child

my concerns are also for the child, could you imagine living your life known as the first child born by a trans person with a transplanted uterus..... thats a label you would have for your whole life and what you would be known as..... thats provided you are born healthy and well formed, and not as a ....I can not think of a word I wanna use here that would not be offensive ...

however, I am neither for or against the transplant, its a natural step in the progression of transition for trans people and I would be interested to hear more from trans people about this and their thoughts

[MarieDelta]

There are certainly worse mothers.

I dont know Sara Luis, and neither, I dare say, does anyone else.

However, someone has to be the first.

Yes I want to be a mom someday, will I? Well, if this works, at least there is a slim chance.

[TwylaTwobits]

Thing is Marie, I don't think it's feasible at all. There are a lot more things involved in having a body hospitable for bearing children than just having a uterus.

I just think there is heartache ahead for all involved. To have this done and actually have a donor card filled on someone with a healthy uterus that just happens to be a match for her type. Then to have it miraculously not reject, then where does the embryo come from? In a natural woman you can go to a sperm bank and get inseminated. Here there is no sign of a partner or anything there. So now you have buying a uterus, buying an embryo, then you get it implanted. And how many drugs will she be taking to make sure that the embryo has a chance to implant? Actually how many drugs will she be taking to try and make a uterus a viable environment to even implant the embryo? How much pain is she willing to bear to go through all this just to be told she can't ever have a child that her body will not support it? She can ask anyone who has tried for years to conceive about that pain.

I'm sorry. I feel for this person, but I do believe that there are tons of kids out there needing a parent who would love to be adopted by someone who could love and want them.

[MarieDelta]

All that will have to be dealt with , true. But that is not something I feel adequately informed enough to speak on.

However, She does have Drs that believe they can carry this thing off.

Now, I know you think its all cool and she could justadopt a child. However , this is Texas we are talking about.

They barely even consider us human there. They dont respect us and probably think we are insane or some such.

Good luck adopting a child in that environment.

[TwylaTwobits]

Another question is, is the doctor really wanting to help or just have his name in the medical books as the first to perform this?

Texas can be a harsh state, to a lot of people, minorities as well as alternate sexualities. But she's been there a long time, if it's that bad there for her, why hasn't she moved?

[MarieDelta]

Luiz has always wanted a family and has been considering adoption for more than 20 years, but the time has never been right. Now, with the cutting edge medical technology in New York, she wants to have the child herself.

“Am I too greedy to put a live human being through this?” she torments herself with during sleepless nights. “This child may become the most famous child in the world.”

She says she answers the question in her heart of hearts, “No.”

“I will be a protective parent,” she says,” and though being special has its crosses to bear, it also has its special joys.”

Luiz hopes to give birth to a girl, though she says she’d be happy with a boy, too.

In the end, she exclaims, “My name is Sarah Luiz, and glad I can. I believe in my dreams!”



Why should she have to justify herself?

Do other women have to justify wanting to carry a child to term and give birth(no matter what the risks)?

Do the have to certify that they are going to be a good mother?

If she can afford the surgery, and it works, I say good for her!

[Long Duck Dong]

god help them if they are not acting in the best interests of the child...... and that applies to any parent

the thing about being a parent is its not just about one persons rights and opinions.... its about 3 people.... the parents and the child....

imagine what would happen if the child was to grow up and take their own life cos of the * stigma * of being born to a woman that was once a man, using somebody elses body parts....

or what about giving birth to a child so deformed or un formed, that it is barely able to survive, let allow live any form of life

I do not want to sound harsh, but there is already enuf issues facing *normal * parents and children *.... now we are entering uncharted waters.... and while its easy to say * its all good and fine *.... we are talking about a new level of psych, biological and parenting issues that nobody could really forsee with any great understanding......

at the end of the day, yes, sarah needs to prove to the experts that they are not wasting their time ..... its not a case of justifing her desires, but proving to the doctors that its in their best interests to go ahead with the operation and on going issues

personally, shes 44, allowing for all the therapy, treatments, healing, pregnancy and body adjustments yadda yadda.... shes not a prime candidate at all...... as the time frame will have her ready to get pregnant closer to 50 years old.....
if I was the doctors, I would look closer at a intersex person that is a lot younger and that gives them more time to work with........ no offense to sarah... but they are doctors, not miracle workers....

[MarieDelta]

god help them if they are not acting in the best interests of the child...... and that applies to any parent

the thing about being a parent is its not just about one persons rights and opinions.... its about 3 people.... the parents and the child....

imagine what would happen if the child was to grow up and take their own life cos of the * stigma * of being born to a woman that was once a man, using somebody elses body parts....

or what about giving birth to a child so deformed or un formed, that it is barely able to survive, let allow live any form of life

I do not want to sound harsh, but there is already enuf issues facing *normal * parents and children *.... now we are entering uncharted waters.... and while its easy to say * its all good and fine *.... we are talking about a new level of psych, biological and parenting issues that nobody could really forsee with any great understanding......

at the end of the day, yes, sarah needs to prove to the experts that they are not wasting their time ..... its not a case of justifing her desires, but proving to the doctors that its in their best interests to go ahead with the operation and on going issues

personally, shes 44, allowing for all the therapy, treatments, healing, pregnancy and body adjustments yadda yadda.... shes not a prime candidate at all...... as the time frame will have her ready to get pregnant closer to 50 years old.....
if I was the doctors, I would look closer at a intersex person that is a lot younger and that gives them more time to work with........ no offense to sarah... but they are doctors, not miracle workers....

So far you are worrying about things that havent even happened yet.

Worrying never accomplished a thing.

All of this is still yet to be.

Everything you have listed could and does happen to any child born on this planet.

Remember the first test tube baby?

I'll say it again, she doesnt have to justify her ability to be a parent. It isnt our job to be arbiter of this.


Time will tell.

[Long Duck Dong]

the thing is I am not worried.... what ever happens, doesn't affect me.....
it affects her, the child and the doctors... not me..... thats why I am indifferent to it all....

you want a simple and honest reaction.... it would be this....
there is no way in hell, she would get pregnant, the technology and medical science is not near that level yet...mainly cos the human body is far too complex for some medical procedures....

I put more chance into them breeding us in baby farms like in the matrix..... as the way cloning is going, they are miles ahead in their research.... and its not as complex as as a transplanted uterus, hormones, chemicals and a host body that is able to adjust to a pregnancy and birth

yes I do support the research into uterine transplants as it could bring hope to females ( cis females ) that already have 99% of the requirements for pregnancy......but knowing that while the surgery has been successful, reproduction has not been so far.....

[rissababynta]

personally, shes 44, allowing for all the therapy, treatments, healing, pregnancy and body adjustments yadda yadda.... shes not a prime candidate at all...... as the time frame will have her ready to get pregnant closer to 50 years old.....
if I was the doctors, I would look closer at a intersex person that is a lot younger and that gives them more time to work with........ no offense to sarah... but they are doctors, not miracle workers....

I agree with this 100% A natural born woman isn't even considered to be the best possible candidates for pregnancy past the age of 35...not saying it doesn't happen but the chances of pregnancy issues and fetal abnormalities are greatly increased. If they were going to go ahead and try the transplant, I think they would have much more success (or at least take one step closer to success) if it was done in someone who was younger.

[tenni]

There would be both moral and ethical issues involved. Twyla wrote about "buying" a fetus. That alone is a huge ethical issue. Should people be permitted to "buy" a fetus? It may happen in the US but I believe that it is illegal in Canada to "buy" a fetus? Donors for the egg and sperm are needed. In a couple situation where the woman may not conceive but still has a uterus to carry the child what is the ethical solution? In some cases, it is a very close relative who donates her egg and the husband's sperm is used to impregnate the woman.

In the situation of a transgendered woman, it might be seen as ethical if she kept some sperm from when she was a male. Then it would require a donor egg. This will take time of course for this to become "normal" so that keeping the one parent's sperm is a thought to have before transitioning.

[MarieDelta]

My final thoughts regarding this issue:

1. The medical decisions are best left up to the Dr's involved.

2. If a person wants to be a mother, and the tech is available to do it, they should be allowed to be a mother,regardless of cis or trans history.

Whether or not the child will be still born, or damaged, or whatever. Those are things every pregnancy faces.

Whether or not someone will be a good mother, thats not up to us to decide either.

[MarieDelta]

This will take time of course for this to become "normal" so that keeping the one parent's sperm is a thought to have before transitioning.

Most decent therapists will recommend this to any transwoman who is starting transition.

[transcendMental]

When a cisgendered woman wants to have a baby at 44, people might be concerned about health issues, but there is not near this much controversy!

I agree that this sounds dangerous medically and unlikely to succeed, but I leave all that between Sarah and her doctors.

If she wants to do this primarily so she can be the first transsexual to bear a child, then I think that is irresponsible. If she wants to do it primarily because she has always wanted to bear and raise a child, then I don't see why she should be judged because she is transsexual. But I agree with Marie that she doesn't owe me or you an explanation of which is the case.

Remember the woman several years ago who wanted to have a child at - I don't know how old she was, 60's, 70's? People were saying "oh, it's dangerous, why is she doing this? I don't think this is such a good idea." But I don't remember people saying "she's just doing this to gain attention, so she can be the first woman to give birth at age 70" or "her doctor is just doing this to gain fame and notoriety for being the first to help a woman give birth at age 70".

I agree with Marie that the parents of the first test-tube baby, and the first result of artificial insemination also had to worry about how their child would grow up, and we don't condemn them (at least not today). This is nothing new.

LDD wants to hear thoughts of transpeople on this. If I had transitioned when I was a teen, and uterine transplants were commonplace, safe, and effective, then just like so many women, I would have loved to have been able to bear a child in my 20's. At my age, I won't even consider trailblazing this one, but if someone else does, and it results down the line in improving the lot of transsexual youth, of course I support that.

If her life is so bad in Texas, why doesn't she just move away? OMG, Twyla. Why didn't the Jews just leave Germany? Why didn't whatshername in Mississippi just move away, rather than trying to assert her rights at the prom? In fact, why don't all LGBT people in the US just move to San Francisco, or Canada, or some place more LGBT-friendly? Maybe she feels that it's not fair that she be expected to run away, because other people are being unfair. Maybe she likes Texas, aside from its backward views on LGBT issues. I find that line pretty offensive and ill-considered.

[tenni]

As I read the above post a question came to me on this issue. What scientific experiments have been done on animal unterin transplants? Just as with the first child born via artificial insemination had a lot of previous experimentation done on animals, this seems like a first step before attempting a uterin transplant on a transwoman. I wonder if ethics and morality have prevented this type of study on animals such as mice etc. Changing a male mouse to female and then a uterus transplant should be done a long time before it is tried on a human...doncha think?

[transcendMental]

As I read the above post a question came to me on this issue. What scientific experiments have been done on animal unterin transplants? Just as with the first child born via artificial insemination had a lot of previous experimentation done on animals, this seems like a first step before attempting a uterin transplant on a transwoman. I wonder if ethics and morality have prevented this type of study on animals such as mice etc. Changing a male mouse to female and then a uterus transplant should be done a long time before it is tried on a human...doncha think?

My God, tenni, do you think these things are the result of some mad scientist meeting a transwoman and saying, "heeeey, what if?"

Do we need mouse studies?

They have perfected vaginoplasty to such a degree that a good surgeon can create a vulva and vagina that cannot be distinguished by sight, feel, or function from that of a genetic woman. There was no need to find transsexual mice, and no need at all that they be able to operate on a mouse's microgenitalia, before doing so. If they'd had to do that, I doubt we'd be as advanced as we are today.

Yes it would be completely unethical and immoral to change a male mouse to a female mouse, just as it would be unethical and immoral to change a male human to a female human. But when a woman comes to a doctor and says, "I have this penis and it drives me nuts and makes it hard for me to hold a job or interact socially, and I just want to kill myself!" is it ethical for the doctor to say, "well, wait 50 years or so for us to perfect this operation on mice, and then come back?" And don't suggest that the doctor should prescribe therapy and antidepressants, because they've already been in therapy for years, and antidepressants have been clinically proven ineffective in treating gender dysphoria.

The question of a uterus is a little different. A uterus is not necessary to treat gender dysphoria. This is strictly a quality of life issue for the transwoman, not survival. But why should a transwoman have a lower quality of life than other women?

Ask yourself: if a cis-woman was born without a uterus, and was looking for this operation, would there be nearly the controversy? Would you yourself be asking the question about mice? Or would you be more likely to assume that there is medical precedent that has led up to this, and that the woman in question has thought through the risks with her doctor? I'm curious.

tm

[TwylaTwobits]

Tm, she's not the first by far to try this. She seeks to be the first successful regardless of all the minimal chance of success at just the transplant, let alone actually becoming capable of having a child.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lili_Elbe

[TwylaTwobits]

If her life is so bad in Texas, why doesn't she just move away? OMG, Twyla. Why didn't the Jews just leave Germany? Why didn't whatshername in Mississippi just move away, rather than trying to assert her rights at the prom? In fact, why don't all LGBT people in the US just move to San Francisco, or Canada, or some place more LGBT-friendly? Maybe she feels that it's not fair that she be expected to run away, because other people are being unfair. Maybe she likes Texas, aside from its backward views on LGBT issues. I find that line pretty offensive and ill-considered.

Sorry you feel that way, TM, it was a response to the reason she can't adopt a child was her state was discriminatory against trans adopting.

[transcendMental]

Sorry you feel that way, TM, it was a response to the reason she can't adopt a child was her state was discriminatory against trans adopting.

But she's not trying to adopt. She wants to have a child, and seems to have the means to try that. So why should she leave her state, because they make it hard for transpeople to adopt? Basically, your argument appears to reduce to, if you feel repressed in your homeland, just leave it.

And it was tenni, not me, who suggested that this is the first attempt at this kind of thing.

But I am still curious to hear your (and other's) response to how you would react if this was a cisgender woman born without a uterus seeking this operation?

[TwylaTwobits]

Personally if it was a natural born woman, and I hate that term, I hate fucking labels period btw. I would not see the problem with it that transplanting into for all intentions an internally male body would cause. There are other things going on in the female body that all add up to being able to not only concieve but provide a healthy environment for a fetus to grow into a healthy developed baby.

That's not being against trans, that's looking at it from a standpoint that most are missing. I have long been a supporter of trans and trans rights as well as supporting everyone's rights. But I can't support this. It's too fraught with difficulties not to mention its fighting for the right a lot of women would give their left tit to give away. The right to be told your body can never carry a child to term. That is one heartache I would never wish on ANYONE.

[transcendMental]

Personally if it was a natural born woman, and I hate that term, I hate fucking labels period btw. I would not see the problem with it that transplanting into for all intentions an internally male body would cause. There are other things going on in the female body that all add up to being able to not only concieve but provide a healthy environment for a fetus to grow into a healthy developed baby.


I can't pretend to know so much about what is absolutely necessary to provide a healthy environment for a fetus. I do know that the physical differences between males and females are much smaller than we tend to realize.

If a cis-woman is born without a uterus, though, why assume she has everything else necessary to produce and sustain a fetus, or that it's possible to hook things up in an effective way? Why only question this for a transwoman?

Why not leave those decisions to the doctors? If this was completely ridiculous to try, the doctors involved would be risking serious malpractice. My guess is that they have reasons to think they could be successful. I may not be as hopeful as they are, but I know that I don't know nearly as much about the physiology or processes involved.

[csrakate]

I support Trans women and feel the pain of their plight, but TM...I am insulted that you are trivializing the pain and agony felt by many cisgendered women over their ability to conceive and carry a baby to full term by demanding that it should be something the trans woman should also be allowed to do. There is more to being able to give birth than owning a uterus....our bodies are designed to do so....are built to do so....and the thought of a scientist altering that process is just too much for me. When is enough enough? Don't we already allow science to keep people alive much longer than intended? Don't we already allow science to keep fragile babies alive that, for all intents and purposes, were not meant to survive? Now we are going to "create" the ability to have a baby in a body that may not have been intended to do so?

I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone...but I just have to ask, is this REALLY in the best interest of a child in the long run? Or is it simply a selfish desire to complete a process? Luiz herself was quoted as saying, “They need to have the right person,” she says. “ If you did this with a woman, amazing. If you do this with a transgender woman, it will receive a lot of attention.” Sounds very self serving on her part and the part of the doctors.

I understand that Luiz feels that giving birth is part of the experience of being a woman, but being a woman does not guarantee the right or the ability to bear a child. You might want to ask a cisgendered woman how it feels to be left out of a process that should have been a natural process by virtue of being born a woman before demanding a right that isn't necessarily a God given right to women across the board.

[TaylorMade]

There's so much more to the process than just a uterus. In pregnancy, the uterus isn't the only required item. So many other body parts act in concert: the endocrine, the pituitary, and even the bone structure change to accommodate life and I don't think even the regular hormonal therapy that trans women go through would be enough, and additional hormones could be harmful both to the woman and the fetus.

I simply can't see this ending well medically.

*Taylor*

[transcendMental]

I support Trans women and feel the pain of their plight, but TM...I am insulted that you are trivializing the pain and agony felt by many cisgendered women over their ability to conceive and carry a baby to full term by demanding that it should be something the trans woman should also be allowed to do. There is more to being able to give birth than owning a uterus....our bodies are designed to do so....are built to do so....and the thought of a scientist altering that process is just too much for me. When is enough enough? Don't we already allow science to keep people alive much longer than intended? Don't we already allow science to keep fragile babies alive that for all intents and purposes, were not meant to survive? Now we are going to "create" the ability to have a baby in a body that may not have been intended to do so?

I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone...but I just have to ask, is this REALLY in the best interest of a child in the long run? Or is it simply a selfish desire to complete a process? You might want to ask a cisgendered woman about HER pain and agony, ask her how it feels to be left out of a process that should have been a natural process by virtue of being born a woman before demanding a right that isn't necessarily a God given right to women across the board.

Kate, help me understand how I have insulted you.

I never demanded a thing. Nor is Sarah.

What did I say that trivialized the experience of ciswomen giving birth?

I was closely involved with my wife throughout both of her pregnancies, and as much as I could, gave up the same things she needed to give up. I held her hand and helped her to breathe throughout both labors. No, it's not at all the same thing, but I did what I could to feel her pain as much as I could.

What did I say that trivialized the experience of a ciswoman being told she could not give birth?

I know women in this position. My wife and I were concerned for years that we would not be able to conceive. I see the potential that if this can work for Sarah, it could also work for ciswomen who have been pronounced unable to bear children.

When did I ever imply that all that is necessary is to own a uterus? I admitted fully that I do not know what all is necessary. I suggested that we leave that question to people who know more about it than we do.

When is enough enough? The nature of humans seems to be to try to improve their lot, without bound. Enough is never enough. No less so for transwomen than for ciswomen, or men or transmen.

This genuinely confuses me. If it would be meaningful to a transwoman to bear a child, and if it was possible, why would you oppose her doing so?

And why would you assume that it would be less meaningful for a transwoman to be able to do this than for a ciswoman to be able to do this?

"Simply a selfish desire to complete a process?" Yes, that is offensive. Apology accepted. Do you think I think I can't be a woman without bearing a child? I've been a woman my whole damned life. Part of that has been an urge from early on to bear a child. I know I won't. I am fully at peace with that. I do not hold expectations or make demands on the universe. I know that bearing a child is no more a God-given right for me or Sarah than for any ciswoman. This is the real world, and we all do what we can that we believe will be fulfilling. We don't have to demand rights - Sarah already has the right to pursue this. You're just saying she shouldn't. I haven't expressed an opinion on whether she should. But to suggest that this is just a "completion thing" is to trivialize the experience of transwomen much more so than anything I've said trivializes the experience of ciswomen.

What portion of ciswomen do you think ask themselves "is my desire to have a baby REALLY in the best interest of the child in the long run, or just a selfish desire to complete a process?" Should ciswomen be any more exempt from having to ask this question than transwomen are?

I suggest we both cool off a bit, and then try again to talk about this without the rancour, offense, and self-righteousness.

[MarieDelta]

I support Trans women and feel the pain of their plight, but TM...I am insulted that you are trivializing the pain and agony felt by many cisgendered women over their ability to conceive and carry a baby to full term by demanding that it should be something the trans woman should also be allowed to do. There is more to being able to give birth than owning a uterus....our bodies are designed to do so....are built to do so....and the thought of a scientist altering that process is just too much for me. When is enough enough? Don't we already allow science to keep people alive much longer than intended? Don't we already allow science to keep fragile babies alive that, for all intents and purposes, were not meant to survive? Now we are going to "create" the ability to have a baby in a body that may not have been intended to do so?

I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone...but I just have to ask, is this REALLY in the best interest of a child in the long run? Or is it simply a selfish desire to complete a process? Luiz herself was quoted as saying, “They need to have the right person,” she says. “ If you did this with a woman, amazing. If you do this with a transgender woman, it will receive a lot of attention.” Sounds very self serving on her part and the part of the doctors.

I understand that Luiz feels that giving birth is part of the experience of being a woman, but being a woman does not guarantee the right or the ability to bear a child. You might want to ask a cisgendered woman how it feels to be left out of a process that should have been a natural process by virtue of being born a woman before demanding a right that isn't necessarily a God given right to women across the board.



I guess I don’t understand either.

I was a preemie baby - are you saying I should have been let to die?

Science and medicine make progress; they have improved all of our lots for centuries.

Do you believe it’s "too much" to do laser eye correction? What about Appendectomies? Bone correction? Fixing a defect that allows a child to live a healthy and normal life? Just where is the line between intervention and "too much"?


I don’t think it’s proper to judge her motives in having a child. As to the medicine, I am perfectly content with letting the Dr's run this one.

None of us asked to be born on this planet, we simply do the best we can with what we are given. If our medicine allows that to be a little less painful, I am all for it.

[Long Duck Dong]

prem babies had a very low survival rate, we have turned that around, and increased the survival rate from 10% to 95%

but in doing so, we are keeping babies alive, that really have no life to live.... children so deformed and brain damaged that they can not do much more than just breath..... all cos the parents want that child to live.....

thats a dangerous path to walk, when we as parents play god, we are deciding who can live but we do not consider that the child has no life..... its when we cross the line between parents and playing god for our own desires....

I, myself, am a person that has said no to kids, as once I became aware of the genetical uniqueness of my own body and the years of tests I have endured, I will not inflict that on another human being.... I consider that to be the correct move for myself as a responsible person.....
children are children, not lab rats.....

[csrakate]

Marie,
I am not saying that I wish preemies didn't live. I am not sorry that people are living longer and I am definitely not sorry that science has found way for the transgender to finally be in the body that they desire. But...there is limit to what we should expect science to alter, and I simply cannot support the premise that it would be good idea to pursue uterine transplants just because a transgender female desires to have a child. A uterus is not the only thing that is necessary to complete the childbirth experience.

Women have faced the anguish of being unable to bear children for years. It doesn't make them any less of a woman. It just happens and while it would be wonderful for science to be able to correct it, it isn't feasible.

TM...My apologies for offending you. My thoughts weren't worded correctly and I also misunderstood something you said. I see now that you were not meaning to minimize the experience of a woman unable to have babies.

[TwylaTwobits]

I can't pretend to know so much about what is absolutely necessary to provide a healthy environment for a fetus. I do know that the physical differences between males and females are much smaller than we tend to realize.

If a cis-woman is born without a uterus, though, why assume she has everything else necessary to produce and sustain a fetus, or that it's possible to hook things up in an effective way? Why only question this for a transwoman?

Why not leave those decisions to the doctors? If this was completely ridiculous to try, the doctors involved would be risking serious malpractice. My guess is that they have reasons to think they could be successful. I may not be as hopeful as they are, but I know that I don't know nearly as much about the physiology or processes involved.

You asked a question, I answered it. Yes, I'd assume that everything else was there for the natural woman besides the uterus. And yes they would be risking malpractice...cept for that niggly paper you sign declaring you won't sue if anything goes wrong with an experimental surgery. It has never been successfully done to have the uterus transplanted per what I have read despite numerous attempts in other countries let alone that a child would ever be created, nurtured and birthed from that environment.

So I stand with Kate on this, when is enough enough? There is no way for someone to fully become another sex. There are physiological changes that can take place surgically and with hormones to give a look that matches a person's internal feelings, but in the end: The basic makeup of the body doesn't change. That is not my opinion, that's a medical fact. So please don't come screaming at me that it is an insult. I feel for Ms. Luiz but this is not something that has a likelihood of succeeding so this argument is moot.

[MarieDelta]

According to the reports I've read it could be a possibility within two years.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/medicine/article6884316.ece


British doctors have moved a step closer to carrying out what they hope will be the world’s first successful human womb transplant, giving hope to thousands of women who are unable to have children for medical reasons.

London-based surgeons and vets, working with medical teams in New York and Budapest, have performed the first long-term transplants of a uterus with a reliable blood supply in rabbits. If trials on larger animals are successful, the first woman could receive a viable uterus transplant from a deceased human donor within two years, the researchers say.

An estimated 15,000 women of childbearing age in Britain were born without a uterus or had it damaged or removed after illnesses such as cancer. The procedure could offer an alternative to surrogacy or adoption.

Richard Smith, a consultant gynaecological surgeon at Hammersmith Hospital, West London, said that his team had solved a key problem of how to maintain a regular blood supply to a womb transplanted from a donor rabbit into another, allowing it to survive long enough to carry a successful pregnancy. But the project has stalled due to scepticism from the wider medical community and a lack of funding from research bodies. An independent charity, Uterine Transplant UK, will be set up later this month to raise £250,000 to continue the research.

The first uterus transplant, carried out on a 26-year-old Saudi woman in 2000, failed when a blood vessel supplying the organ developed a clot, and it had to be removed after 99 days. Maintaining a reliable blood supply has been seen as crucial before the technique — which has also been tried on pigs, sheep, goats and monkeys — can be safely and successfully performed on humans.

The latest study, presented to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Atlanta, involved five donor rabbits and five recipients, who were operated on at the Royal Veterinary College in London. The recipient rabbits received a womb using a “vascular patch technique” that connected major blood vessels, including the aorta.

Previous studies failed when animals died due to blood clots or excessive bleeding. But of the five, two rabbits lived for up to 10 months and examinations after death — from causes unrelated to the transplant — showed the surgery to have been a success. Although the surviving rabbits were mated, they did not become pregnant naturally. But further research will attempt to make rabbits pregnant by using embryos fertilised in the laboratory, Mr Smith said.

Women with a transplanted uterus would have to undergo in vitro fertilisation treatment to achieve pregnancy and give birth by Caesarean section in order to avoid complications such as ectopic pregnancy — a baby developing in the wrong place.

A successful transplant would also be temporary, to avoid the patient having to take immunosuppressant drugs for life, in order to avoid rejection of the womb. But a woman recipient might be given two to three years to conceive and carry a baby or babies before the womb was removed.

Surgeons in New York have already obtained permission to carry out a human trial, after demonstrating that a uterus from a donor can be preserved for up to 12 hours, long enough to perform surgery.

Tony Rutherford, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said there was “a big difference between demonstrating effectiveness in a rabbit and being able to do this in a larger animal or a human”.

[TwylaTwobits]

Marie, did you miss the story about the 14 sheep who had autologous transplants. Meaning their own uteruses were removed then reimplanted so you can scratch off studying not matching the donor. Of those 14, 7 sheep had to be euthanised for complications of the surgery.

Every story including the one you posted, views this as a TEMPORARY measure and it's not for transwoman in your article. It's for natural born women who for some reason have a problem with their own uterus. Meaning the bodies are physically able to carry out the other functions of pregnancy.
Congenital absence of uteruses is used as a ruleout for candidates.

I feel for this transwoman but there are plenty of other women in the same boat.

[transcendMental]

I feel for this transwoman but there are plenty of other women in the same boat.

Twyla, I'm sorry but just I don't get your objection.

Of course there are plenty of ciswomen who can't give birth. You say you don't object to them seeking remedy, but you do object to transwomen seeking remedy.

What is wrong with seeking a solution to any problem, unless you feel that it is a problem that should not be solved?

You claim that the problem cannot be solved, but people who know more about the issues than you do think it can be solved. Unless you think the problem should not be solved, why object to their attempt? Especially when a success would benefit all women.

I've already agreed with you that I have my own concerns about the feasibility, and about Sarah's motivations. But at least I can admit that my concerns about feasibility stem from my own ignorance and that my concerns about Sarah's motivations are my own problem, not hers (and in fact stem in part from my own internalized transphobia). From what do your concerns stem?

And about "Please don't come screaming to me that it is an insult," when have I ever gone screaming to you? I believe I have behaved respectfully toward you and toward others, in this thread and in every other. Please reserve your bile for people who have earned it.

[TwylaTwobits]

My concerns stem for the ethical, mental, and medical wellbeing of all involved, TM.

[transcendMental]

My concerns stem for the ethical, mental, and medical wellbeing of all involved, TM.

So does my support for her. At least we're agreed on that.

[Long Duck Dong]

ok I will break down the way I see things, and its not from a personal point of view, its from many years of doing counselling work and seeing things in people that just defy words

1 ) who are the parents ? who provides the eggs and the sperm.... and what the implications of using sperm from the trans person before they transition
you could end up with a child learning that its father is in fact its mother, but its true mother was dead before the child was concieved and that its birth mother was surgically created in order to give birth......

2 ) genetical issues, we are in fact looking at a form of inbreeding if the sperm is originally from the trans before transition... thats one shitload of a can of worms to open

3 ) the child is going to become a public curiosity, in the same way that ivf children are known as ready mixed kids, just add a uterus... they are starting to show signs of psychological disorders that are not seen in * normal * children
octomon.... those kids are the result of medical misadventure, they have to live with that as they grow up.

4 ) with the creation of a new strain of human life form, what are we creating really, we have already seen new forms of disorders, psych issues, *unique * people... are we ready to handle what we create, and the side effects of it...

5 ) is society ready to accept yet another form of diversity, when we already know and understand that society is barely accepting of LGBT people and there is fight after fight to be accepted....

the list goes on and on, its not about should a trans people be able to give birth, its more a case of do we have any real idea of what we are doing outside of creating life in a transplanting uterus....and who is going to pay the price..... and in my eyes, its the kids......
are we ready for the questions from the kids, IE: why am I so different.... why am I getting bullied, why am I called a freak, why is my mother so different to everybody else, why will nobody play with me, why do I have to see another therapist, psych, doctor, specialist

trans people know that very well.... they understand what its like.... yet, why are the trans people remaining silent about that aspect of things in regards to the kids

[carminalolita]

I personally find the prospect of this surgery to be incredibly interesting...as an aspiring medical researcher the idea of being able to progress medically to this point is really quite amazing.

As a supporter of trans-rights, I find this to be even more relevant and I'm proud that such developments to improve the lives of trans people are happening in my lifetime. I do support Sarah's right to make this decision. I can't really judge her motives from what little there is to read, though I do agree it seems somewhat self serving it is impossible to entirely tell unless you are Sarah or know Sarah very personally.

That being said, I am very skeptical that this procedure will work. The previous commenters are right in saying that I lot more than a uterus is required for a healthy pregnancy that is carried full-term without birth defects. There is a great deal of hormonal necessities---but I can see how such hormonal differences can be accounted for in trans women like Sarah (who I presume would already be on hormone therapy if they are pursuing a uterine transplant.) Also, though, there are skeletal differences like pelvis shape and joint flexibility..which could lead to labor problems or stress on the uterus and cervix which could cause a miscarriage....That being said, I am not a doctor. I know what I know from what I have studied in biology (which is very little compared to a medical professional..) and from my knowledge as a cis woman. Do I think this will scientifically, physically and emotionally be difficult for her? Yes. Yes I do. Do I think that this procedure will succeed? I have my doubts, but we cannot really be sure if any procedure will succeed unless we continue to try. She wants to be the first trans gendered woman to become pregnant, but will she? Who knows. But that is not the issue. Sarah has every right to try to become the first. She is definitely aware of the complications, and of the pain and possibility of failure. If she is not, that is a lack of common sense on her part--but still many cis woman also undertake risky and complicated procedures in the sake of having a child, so it is not entirely very different.