A woman in her early thirties has become only the second person in the UK to give birth following a womb transplant – and the first to do so using a womb donated by a deceased donor.
Grace Bell and her baby boy, Hugo Richard Norman Powell, are both healthy following a caesarean section at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London in December 2025.
Grace, who was born without a womb, is the first person to give birth as part of the approved deceased donor womb transplant research programme run by Womb Transplant UK, which is funding a total of 10 such transplants. Because this is a research‑only programme, womb donation is not part of routine organ donation and requires specific consent from the donor’s family.
Grace and her partner Steve named their son’s middle name, Richard, in honour of Professor Richard Smith, who founded the UK womb transplant programme. The research team believes Hugo is only the third baby in Europe born following a transplant from a deceased donor.
This birth comes just 10 months after Grace Davidson became the first woman in the UK to give birth following a live donor womb transplant, using a womb donated by her sister Amy. Both mother and baby continue to do well.
These breakthrough moments are the result of more than 25 years of UK‑led research and clinical innovation, involving multiple hospitals, researchers and charitable organisations.
The UK has two womb transplant pathways, both funded and supported by Womb Transplant UK:
1. Living Donor Programme
- Plans for five transplants
- Each donation approved by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA)
2. INSITU Deceased Donor Research Programme
The INSITU (Investigational Study into Transplantation of the Uterus) programme combines expertise from:
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- NHS Blood and Transplant
- Womb Transplant UK
- The Lister Hospital (HCA Healthcare UK)
Clinicians donate their time free of charge, and Womb Transplant UK funds the cost of each transplant – around £30,000 – ensuring no additional financial pressure on the NHS. NHS Blood and Transplant specialist nurses approach families after consent for standard organ donation has already been agreed, offering the option of womb donation for research purposes. The donor’s family in this case expressed deep pride in their daughter’s legacy.
Womb donation is not done through the organ donor register or opt-out. Donation is only through a special request for the research programme. Families can say yes or no.
The transplant surgery took just under seven hours, with Grace undergoing IVF and embryo transfer at the Lister Fertility Clinic. Following this, she received ongoing monitoring at Oxford University Hospitals and Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital.
Vitally, the donated uterus functions for a limited period, so conception and childbirth must occur before the organ is removed in later surgery.
The Need for Womb Transplant Research:
- 1 in 5,000 women in the UK are born without a viable womb.
- Others lose their womb due to cancer or severe medical conditions.
- More than 100 womb transplants have been carried out globally, resulting in over 70 healthy babies.
The research builds on a history of pioneering UK reproductive surgery, including the development of the abdominal radical trachelectomy (fertility‑preserving cancer surgery) and the modified Strassman procedure for preserving fertility in complex gynaecological conditions.
Co-leader of the UK womb transplant research team, Professor Richard Smith, said:
“I’m so happy for Grace, Steve and their family. 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.
“This was only possible thanks to the generosity of the donor family for deciding to donate, following the tragic loss of their own daughter. This decision ultimately led to the birth of a healthy baby boy. I will be forever grateful to them, as well as to every family who has supported our programme to date.
“I would also like to thank our dedicated and experienced team of doctors, surgeons and nurses, who brilliantly supported our patients and family members through each step of the journey. We are very fortunate that our work is funded by the charity Womb Transplant. With the continued generosity of the charity’s supporters, we hope to be able help more women soon.”
This breakthrough provides new hope for people unable to carry a child due to congenital differences or medical conditions. The research programme continues, with a further nine deceased donor transplants planned.
Image credit: iStock
