"Simply a Miracle": Baby Hugo Becomes the First Child in the UK Born from a Womb Transplanted from a Deceased Donor

In a historic first for the United Kingdom, a baby boy named Hugo Richard Norman Powell has been born to a mother who received a womb transplanted from a deceased donor — one of only three such cases ever recorded in Europe. His mother, Grace Bell, was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome at 16, leaving her without a womb. After learning about Womb Transplant UK's pioneering programme, she and her husband Steve Powell decided to take the extraordinary step — and it worked.

"It's simply a miracle. I never, ever thought that this would be possible," Grace said. "I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life." She added that she thinks of her donor family every day, whose "kindness and selflessness to a complete stranger" made her lifelong dream of becoming a mother possible. Baby Hugo's middle name honours Professor Richard Smith, the clinical lead who made it happen. 👶❤️🌟