A baby boy has become the first child in the UK to be born to a mother who received a womb from a deceased donor, marking what surgeons have described as a “ground-breaking moment” for organ transplantation.
Hugo Powell was delivered weighing 6lb 13oz (3.1kg) in December at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
The transplant marks the first birth in the UK using a womb from a deceased donor, with only two previous cases ever reported in Europe.
Hugo’s mother, Grace Bell, an IT programme manager, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition resulting in an underdeveloped or missing womb. His father, Steve Powell, works in finance, and the couple, who are both in their 30s, live in southern England.
Ms Bell, who was diagnosed with MRKH when she was 16, said: “It’s simply a miracle. I never, ever thought that this would be possible”.
Isabel Quiroga, consultant surgeon and clinical lead for organ retrieval at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals, carried out the seven-hour womb transplant on Bell in 2024. Several months later, Bell underwent fertility treatment at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London.
Professor Richard Smith, who co-leads the UK womb transplant research team, said: “It was just wonderful to be there at the birth and to see baby Hugo coming into the world, after our journey with this family and the many years of research that led us to this moment”.
The couple decided to give Hugo the middle name Richard, after Professor Richard Smith, clinical lead of the charity Womb Transplant UK and consultant gynaecological surgeon. Hugo was also given the name Norman in honor of Ms Bell’s grandfather, so his full name is Hugo Richard Norman Powell.
Bell said: “There are no words to say thank you enough to my donor and her family. Their kindness and selflessness to a complete stranger is the reason I have been able to fulfil my lifelong dream of being a mum”.
The donor’s parents said: “Losing our daughter has shattered our world in ways we can barely put into words. Yet even in this unimaginable pain, we’ve found a small measure of solace in knowing that her final act, her choice, was one of pure generosity. Through organ donation, she has given other families the precious gift of time, hope, healing and now life”.
Five other organs from the donor were transplanted into four people, saving the lives of others.
About 25 to 30 babies have been born worldwide from deceased womb donation. More than two-thirds of womb transplants generally involve living donors, while a third come from deceased donors.
Transplants from deceased donors only happen when the families of those who have died are asked specifically if they wish to donate the womb. The womb is not covered by the normal consent for donation, nor by joining the organ donor register, and it is not covered by deemed consent.
Womb Transplant UK has now performed and paid for five womb transplants in the UK so far – two involving a living donor and three using a deceased donor. Two babies have been born and three transplant patients have not had a baby yet, but are undergoing private IVF.
Hugo’s birth follows the UK’s first womb transplant baby, Amy, born in early 2025 after her mother received her older sister’s womb in a living donation.
A baby born following womb transplantation from a deceased donor has no genetic links with the donor. Ms Bell and Mr Powell may decide to have a second baby, after which surgeons will remove the transplanted womb to avoid a lifetime of immunosuppressant drugs.
