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Thanks to her mother’s donated uterus, a young woman was able to give birth to a little boy on January 2 in Barcelona.
This is a great first in Spain. On January 2, little Manuel was born thanks to his grandmother’s donated uterus.
The mother, Mayra, was born without a uterus
According to the Spanish media Radio Catalunyawho related this story, Mayra, the baby’s mother suffered from Rokitansky syndrome, a rare congenital disease which manifests itself by a partial or total absence of the vagina and uterus.
An anomaly, which did not prevent Mayra from becoming a mother: she contacted the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona – which was carrying out tests on transplanted uteruses – and asked her mother to have an operation.
During an operation lasting around twelve hours, a surgical robot extracted the uterus, then implanted it in the body of the mother-to-be. Once the uterus was transplanted, Mayra received an embryo through in vitro fertilization.
A surgical feat, which resulted in a pregnancy.
The following ? A “classic” pregnancy, say doctors. Mayra gave birth to a healthy little Manuel on January 2, say our colleagues from 324.
The young mother even told Radio Catalunya that before the birth of her son, she spoke to him and said “I‘was in there too, everything will be fine’.
Even if the situation is “incredible, shocking and strange”estimates the young mother, this surgical process is already used in eight establishments in Spain.
Rokitansky syndrome: unknown causes
Rokitansky syndrome, also called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH), is characterized by the absence of a uterus and at least the upper 2/3 of the vagina. This is a rather rare disease, affecting approximately 1 in 4,500 young women.
At present, the causes of this syndrome are still unknown.
“The genetic model seems complex, no obvious genetic cause has been clearly identified to date.explained Magali Viaud, coordinator of the Reference Center for rare gynecological pathologies at Necker hospital, in a previous article. Current state-of-the-art methods allow us to carry out analyzes of genome of the young woman, but also that of the parents, in order to better understand the mode of transmission and the precise mechanism“.
She adds that “Familial forms (several cases in the family) are rare, they are what raises suspicion of a genetic origin of the syndrome. In view of the research already carried out, the path of epigenetics is probable, that is to say a modification of the expression of genes during intrauterine life by environmental factors.“.
The malformation would occur at around six weeks of pregnancy, when the female genital organs develop in the embryo.
Distilbene, a drug in the viewfinder
Recently, a study carried out by the Réseau DES France association and financed by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) highlighted the increased risk of Rokitansky syndrome in the granddaughters of women who took Distilbène®, a medication formerly prescribed for miscarriages which led to numerous genital malformations.
Three granddaughters out of 759 studied present Rokitansky syndrome, compared to 1 woman in 4500 in the general population. However, as the study is based on a declarative survey, the researchers suggest remaining cautious about these results.