Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Uterine Transplant Program Hits Major Milestone With First Baby Born In U.S.
The New York Times: Woman With Transplanted Uterus Gives Birth, The First In The U.S.
For the first time in the United States, a woman who had a uterus transplant has given birth. The mother, who was born without a uterus, received the transplant from a living donor last year at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, and had a baby boy there last month, the hospital said on Friday. (Grady, 12/2)
The Washington Post: A Woman With A Transplanted Uterus Just Gave Birth — A First For The U.S.
The success marked another step forward for transplant surgery aimed at improving a person’s life, not just saving it. Doctors have performed penis transplants for wounded troops, given a young boy two new hands and given a new nose, lips, palate, eyelids and jaw to a woman who was gruesomely disfigured after she was shot in the face. The fact that the uterus transplant success in Sweden can be replicated is a promising sign for thousands of women who have been unable to conceive. And doctors at Baylor have sought to expand the limits of the procedure, using donated uteri that didn’t come from family members and, in some cases, organs that came from cadavers. (Wootson, 12/3)
Dallas Morning News: Baylor Doctors Deliver First Baby Born In U.S. After Uterine Transplant
All the women enrolled in the Baylor study suffer from absolute uterine infertility, a condition that affects about 1 in every 500 women. That means they had no uterus and childbirth would never have been an option. Many said they often felt incomplete, embarrassed and isolated — until now, said Dr. Colin Koon, a transplant team surgeon whose expertise is in gynecologic cancers. “It gives hope to women who didn’t feel like they had hope,” he said. (Rice, 12/2)
In other news, private equity firms are pouring money into the infertility market —
Stat: Investors See Big Money In Infertility. And They're Transforming The Industry
Sensing a lucrative market, private equity firms are pouring money into building national chains of fertility clinics. Some are spending on splashy advertising and a deliberate strategy of reaching out to young women who are not yet trying to conceive. Venture capitalists are getting into the business, too; this year alone, PitchBook has tallied more than $178 million flowing into startups developing fertility products, such as a test that promises a credit score-style rating of a woman’s fertility. (Robbins, 12/4)
