The Gift of Life: The First UK Womb Transplant

In February 2025, the UK’s first baby was born to a mother who had received a womb transplant from a living donor. The baby, Amy Isabel, was born via a planned caesarean section and her smiling face was featured on newspaper front pages across the nation. Pictured beside her was her mother, Grace Davidson who had received a womb transplant from her sister, Amy, in 2023.

This life changing procedure was more than 25 years in the making. In this show, the two surgeons at the heart of this story offer extraordinary insights into the long and winding road they have walked – through scientific breakthroughs (as well as dead ends), innovative spin-off surgeries, and surmounting opposition and resistance from many quarters – to culminate in the first baby in the UK born to a mother with a transplanted uterus.

The authors address the complex issues of ethics, legality, and eligibility criteria surrounding the transplant and its development and, looking ahead, they explore future opportunities for uterine transplantation.