A baby boy has become the first child in the United Kingdom to be born after his mother received a womb transplant from a deceased donor, marking a significant development in reproductive medicine.
According to BBC on Tuesday, the baby, Hugo, was delivered just before Christmas 2025 at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in west London, weighing nearly 7lbs.
His mother, Grace Bell, who is in her 30s, was born without a functioning womb due to Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome — a condition that affects about one in 5,000 women in the UK. Although she has normal ovaries, she does not menstruate and was informed at 16 that she would not be able to carry her own child.
Following the birth, Bell described the moment as extraordinary. “It was simply a miracle,” she said. Recalling the experience, she added, “I remember waking up in the morning and seeing his little face, with his little dummy in, and it felt like I needed to wake up from a dream. It was just incredible.”
Bell underwent a 10-hour transplant procedure at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford in June 2024. Months later, she received in vitro fertilisation treatment at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London before a successful embryo transfer led to the pregnancy.
She and her partner, Steve Powell, named their son Hugo Richard, honouring Prof Richard Smith, the clinical lead at the charity Womb Transplant UK and a consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Smith, who was present at the birth, told PA Media: “It’s been an unbelievable journey. Our whole team has been hanging together now for years and years to make this happen. So to me it’s been fantastic, just amazing.”
In a tribute reported by The Guardian, the donor’s family said the decision to donate had “given other families the precious gift of time, hope, healing and now life.”
They added: “As her parents, we feel tremendous pride at the legacy she leaves behind – a legacy of compassion, courage and love that continues to touch lives even after her passing.”
Medical teams have indicated that the transplanted womb will be removed once the couple decide they have completed their family, to avoid Bell remaining on long-term immunosuppressant medication.
Reports indicate that globally, about 25 to 30 babies have been born following deceased womb donations, while most womb transplants involve living donors.
The UK’s first womb transplant was carried out in 2023 using a living donor. Womb donation is not covered under routine organ donor registration or deemed consent laws, and families must give specific approval.
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