Baylor University Medical Center Publishes Results of Pioneering Uterus Transplant Study
On August 15, 2024, Baylor University Medical Center’s uterus transplant program, the largest of its kind globally, released the findings of an eight-year trial in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study, known as the Dallas Uterus Transplant Study (DUETS), was conducted through the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute to evaluate the long-term outcomes of uterus transplantation for women with uterine factor infertility.
The DUETS trials, which ran from September 2016 to August 2019, involved 20 uterus transplants. Fourteen of these transplants resulted in at least one live birth. The study reported no congenital abnormalities or developmental delays in the children born from these transplants.
Dr. Liza Johannesson, the study’s corresponding author and director of uterus transplant at Baylor University Medical Center, stated, “With the results published today, we can now confidently say this procedure is not only safe for the donors, recipients, and the children born via a transplanted uterus, but it is also a viable and successful treatment. It gives hope to the countless number of women who previously had no other option for treating this form of infertility.”
An editorial in JAMA described the study as “seminal,” noting that its success rate for treating a previously untreatable condition is comparable to live birth rates from in vitro fertilization in favorable candidates. This advancement allows women who traditionally faced adoption or surrogacy to carry their own biological children.
The study acknowledged complications: 22% of living donors required corrective surgery, and 55% of recipients experienced at least one complication. However, no persistent effects were reported in follow-up assessments.
Dr. Giuliano Testa, chief of abdominal transplant and chairman of the Baylor Scott & White Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute, and principal investigator of DUETS, expressed hope that the findings would guide other medical centers in establishing their own uterus transplant programs, thus expanding availability for women with uterine factor infertility.
Additional authors of the study included Dr. Greg McKenna, Dr. Anji Wall, Dr. Johanna Bayer, Dr. Seung Hee Lee, Dr. Eric Martinez, and Dr. Amar Gupta. Co-authors were Dr. Ann Marie Warren from Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and Dr. Robert Gunby from Baylor University Medical Center.
Baylor University Medical Center’s uterus transplant program was the first in the U.S. to deliver a baby from a transplanted uterus and the first globally to perform such transplants outside of a clinical trial. The program has conducted 33 surgeries and delivered 22 babies. For more details, visit: BSWHealth.com/UterusTransplant.
