Hugo
Hugo Powell only has months to live, but he has already fulfilled a lifelong dream and is known throughout the world: he was the first person in the United Kingdom to be born after a uterus transplant from a deceased donor and probably only the third in Europe.
Hugo Powell He only has a few months to live: he doesn’t even know yet that he has become a medical reference in the United Kingdom, as he is the first baby born in the country after a uterus transplant from a deceased donor. The birth took place in December, by cesarean section, and is seen as a new, major advance in reproductive medicine.
Grace Bell, the child’s mother, was born without a uterus, due to syndrome Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH)a rare genetic condition that affects the development of the uterus and upper vagina.
The syndrome is generally identified in adolescence, when menstruation does not appear at the expected age. Although there are different forms of the disease and in some cases other organs can also be affected, all people with MRKH have a dysfunctional uterus that makes pregnancy impossible without medical intervention.
Uterus transplants have opened up new possibilities for women with MRKH and also for those who lost their uterus for medical reasons, such as cancer surgeries, the association points out.
In recent years, several milestones have been recorded in this area, around the world. The first birth after uterus transplant occurred in 2014; in 2015, a case was announced in which a baby was born from the same uterus that the mother had previously gestated, after the grandmother donated it to her daughter; in 2018, the first successful pregnancy with a deceased donor uterus was reported.
In the United Kingdom, the first birth after a living donor uterus transplant took place in April 2025. With Hugo’s birth, the country now also records the first case with a deceased donor, and the baby may just be the third in Europe In these circumstances, in accordance with .
In the case of Grace and her son Hugo, the surgery to implant the uterus, after the organ had been prepared, lasted just under seven hours. The mother then underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer, and the pregnancy was closely monitored.
“There are not enough words to thank my donor and her family. Her kindness and selflessness towards a complete stranger are the reason I was able to fulfill my lifelong dream: becoming a mother,” Bell said in a statement.
Grace Bell is the first woman to give birth as part of a research program funded by Womb Transplant UK, which sees a total of 10 transplants using deceased donor uteruses. The procedure remains experimental and is not included in the usual organ donation processes, which requires specific authorization from families.
The donor’s parents highlighted the meaning of the gesture, saying they felt “enormous pride” in the legacy of “compassion, courage and love” left by their daughter, and called on more people to consider donating.
Here’s the family’s journey leading up to Hugo’s arrival:
