Uterus transplants are associated with a high live birth rate among women with absolute uterine-factor infertility after successful graft survival, according to findings from a new case series.

According to the study, published in JAMA Network, 14 out of 20 participants with uterus transplants between 2016-2019 resulted in a successful allograft – with all of them giving birth to at least one live-born infant. The findings, according to researchers, are highly promising to approximate 1 in 500 women with absolute uterine infertility, and supportive of further research into the transplant procedure’s applicability with donors either alive or deceased.

The organs for transplant came from 18 living donors and two deceased donors.

Authors of the study conducted by Baylor University Medical Center for Dallas Uterus Transplant Study or DUETS also said 11 of the 20 recipients had at least one complication - and maternal or obstetrical complications like gestational hypertension or preterm labour occurred in 50 per cent of the successful pregnancies.

"Congenital abnormalities and developmental delays have not occurred to date in the live-born children," the authors wrote. “Since the first successful uterus transplant in 2011, more than 100 uterus transplant procedures have been performed worldwide, using grafts from living or deceased donors,” they added.

Statistics say around 1 in 500 women are impacted by absolute uterine infertility – the inability to conceive children because the woman either does not have a uterus or her uterus is not functioning. The condition can be genetic or acquired. "The development of uterus transplant offers an option for women with absolute uterine infertility to experience pregnancy and childbirth," the authors wrote.

And these births are not the only ones. More than 100 uterus transplant procedures have been performed worldwide since the first successful transplant in 2011. "Although no registry exists that precisely reports the number of live births resulting from these procedures, it is estimated that there are more than 70 live births worldwide," the authors wrote.

According to experts, uterine factor infertility happens because of the following factors:

Doctors say many women are born without a uterus or with an undeformed uterus – a condition known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Syndrome. It is a rare congenital disorder that causes your vagina also to be missing. An MRKH diagnosis typically occurs during the teen years when menstrual cycles don’t start as expected.

In many women, uterine cancer leads to a hysterectomy in which the uterus is completely removed to prevent cancer cells from spreading to other reproductive organs.

Severe endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and adenomyosis cause symptoms like pelvic pain, bowel and bladder issues, and heavy bleeding during periods.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Health and around the world.