In December 2025, a British woman named Grace Bell gave birth to her miracle baby, Hugo. Her son became the first baby to be born in the U.K. using a transplanted womb.
Grace was born without a womb. She has a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the condition causes a baby to be born with underdeveloped or missing reproductive organs.
When she was 16 years old, Grace was told that she would not be able to carry her own child. Now, she is in her early thirties, and her wildest dreams have come true.
She and her partner, Steve Powell, got to welcome baby Hugo at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in west London following the caesarean section birth. The mother and child are both doing well.
In June 2024, Grace underwent a womb transplant operation at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. It lasted 10 hours. Months later, the couple received In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment. Then, they had an embryo transfer at the Lister Fertility Clinic in London.
Grace’s womb transplant was from a deceased donor. It was one of 10 occurring in the U.K. as part of a research program. Three of the transplants have already taken place.
This form of transplant is new and rare. It is not considered part of routine organ donation in the U.K. Families of deceased donors must give extra consent to make such a donation.
“There are no words to say thank you enough to my donor and her family. Their kindness and selflessness to a complete stranger is the reason I have been able to fulfill my lifelong dream of being a mom,” Grace said, per the news release from the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
She is also grateful for the support of her clinical teams and those involved in the research program, particularly Professor Richard Smith, the co-leader of the U.K. womb transplant research team. The new parents gave Hugo the second name of Richard in honor of the professor.
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“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,” said Richard.
For 25 years, womb transplant research has been conducted in the U.K. Over 100 womb transplants have occurred all over the world, resulting in more than 70 healthy babies born.
Ten months before Hugo’s birth, a woman named Grace Davidson became the first woman in the U.K. to give birth after a live womb transplant. Her sister, Amy, had donated her womb to her. Grace Davidson and her baby girl are also doing well.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
