'Miracle' Baby Born After First UK Womb Transplant From Deceased Donor

A baby boy has become the first child in the UK to be born using a womb transplanted from a dead donor, in what doctors are calling 'a ground-breaking moment' for reproductive medicine. Grace Bell, who is in her 30s and was born without a viable womb due to MRKH syndrome — a condition affecting one in every 5,000 women — gave birth to baby Hugo just before Christmas 2025 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in west London. He weighed nearly 7 lbs. 'It was simply a miracle,' Bell said. '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 had been told at the age of 16 that she would never be able to carry her own child. Her only options were surrogacy or hoping for a womb transplant — a procedure that had never successfully resulted in a birth from a deceased donor in the UK. The 10-hour transplant operation took place at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford in June 2024. Months later, Bell received IVF treatment at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London, followed by embryo transfer. 'I think of my donor and her family every day and pray they find some peace in knowing their daughter gave me the biggest gift: the gift of life,' Bell said. 'A part of her will live on forever.' Bell and her partner Steve Powell, from Kent, paid tribute to the 'kindness and selflessness' of the donor and her family. The successful birth is part of a UK clinical research trial involving 10 womb transplants from deceased donors, with three already carried out. Five additional transplants from close living relatives are also planned. Consultant gynaecologist Prof Richard Smith, from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, who has been researching womb transplantation for over 25 years, was present at Hugo's birth and said 'a huge team of people' made it possible. For the estimated 12,000 women in the UK living with MRKH syndrome and similar conditions, Hugo's birth represents something extraordinary: proof that science, generosity, and determination can sometimes make the impossible real.