A woman in her early thirties has become the first person in the United Kingdom to give birth following a womb transplant from a deceased donor, according to an NHS press release issued on 24 February 2026. Grace Bell delivered a healthy baby boy, Hugo Richard Norman Powell, by caesarean section at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London in December 2025. Both mother and baby are reported to be well.
Grace, who lives in southern England with her partner Steve Powell, was born without a womb. Her transplant was performed as part of the UK Investigational Study into Transplantation of the Uterus (INSITU), an approved research programme funded by the charity Womb Transplant UK. The birth is believed to be only the third in Europe following a uterus transplant from a deceased donor.
The deceased donor womb transplant was carried out under a specific research framework approved by the UK’s Health Research Authority.
Each womb donation requires separate, additional consent from the family of a deceased donor after agreement for other organ donation has already been given.
The transplant procedure itself took just under seven hours. Following recovery, Grace underwent in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and embryo transfer at the Lister Fertility Clinic in London. Her pregnancy was monitored at Oxford University Hospitals’ Churchill Hospital and at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, run by Imperial College Healthcare.
Womb Transplant UK funds the transplant operations and associated treatments, estimated at approximately £30,000 per case, ensuring there is no financial burden on the NHS.
This birth follows more than 25 years of research led in the UK by Professor Richard Smith, consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and founder and chair of Womb Transplant UK, and Miss Isabel Quiroga, consultant transplant and endocrine surgeon and clinical lead for organ retrieval at the Oxford Transplant Centre.
Professor Richard Smith said:
“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.”
He added:
“This was only possible thanks to the generosity of the donor family for deciding to donate, following the tragic loss of their own daughter. This decision ultimately led to the birth of a healthy baby boy.”
Miss Isabel Quiroga stated:
“This is a huge milestone, giving more hope to women who do not have a womb and are looking to start a family. This is the only treatment that gives them the ability to carry and give birth to their own child, offering another option alongside adoption or surrogacy.”
The donor’s parents expressed what they described as “tremendous pride at the legacy” their daughter leaves behind. They said:
“Through organ donation, she has given other families the precious gift of time, hope, healing and now life.”
NHS Blood and Transplant specialist nurses discussed womb donation separately with the donor’s family after consent for standard organ donation had already been provided.
Approximately one in 5,000 women in the UK are born without a viable womb, a condition known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. Others lose their uterus due to cancer or severe medical conditions. Until uterus transplantation became available in research settings, options for parenthood included adoption or surrogacy.
Globally, more than 100 womb transplants have been performed, resulting in over 70 healthy births.
Uterus transplantation involves major surgery for both donor (if living) and recipient, followed by immunosuppressive therapy to prevent organ rejection. After successful transplantation and healing, IVF is used because transplanted wombs are not connected to fallopian tubes.
The UK has two parallel programmes:
A living donor programme (five planned transplants), each requiring approval from the Human Tissue Authority (HTA).
The INSITU deceased donor research programme, involving up to 10 transplants.
Grace Bell expressed gratitude to the donor and medical teams:
“Their kindness and selflessness to a complete stranger is the reason I have been able to fulfil my lifelong dream of being a mum.”
She added:
“My hope is that one day this option to motherhood will become much more accessible, so others may have the same chance I have been given.”
Grace and Steve gave their son the middle name Richard in honour of Professor Richard Smith.
The UK research has also contributed to the development of related fertility-preserving surgical procedures, including the abdominal radical trachelectomy for early-stage cervical cancer and the modified Strassman procedure for placental site tumours.
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