Grace Bell has become the first woman in the United Kingdom to give birth after receiving a womb transplant from a deceased donor, a breakthrough hailed as a major milestone in reproductive medicine.
The IT programme manager from Kent was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH), a rare congenital condition in which the uterus is absent or underdeveloped. Diagnosed at 16, Grace has previously spoken about the heartbreak of learning she did not have a womb, recalling how she “uncontrollably” cried after receiving the news.
Her son, Hugo Powell, was delivered by Caesarean section in December at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. He weighed 6lb 13oz at birth.
“It’s simply a miracle,” Grace said. “I never, ever thought that this would be possible.”
Grace met her partner, Steve Powell, and told him about her condition early in their relationship. The couple initially considered surrogacy but later enrolled in the womb transplant programme run by Womb Transplant UK.
In 2024, after several years in the programme, Grace underwent a transplant operation lasting more than seven hours at the Oxford Transplant Centre. She later began private fertility treatment and said discovering she was pregnant made her feel like “the luckiest girl in the world.”
“From the moment of my diagnosis, every birthday when I blew out my candles, I would wish for this – to be able to experience pregnancy,” she said.
Both parents described Hugo’s arrival as surreal. “I remember waking up in the morning and seeing his little face… and it felt like I needed to wake up from a dream. It was just incredible,” Grace said. Steve added that their journey “is nothing short of a miracle after everything we’ve been through.”
The couple may consider having a second child. Afterward, surgeons plan to remove the transplanted womb so Grace will not need to remain on long-term immunosuppressant medication, which carries risks such as infection and high blood pressure.
Grace also expressed profound gratitude to her donor and the donor’s family. “There are no words to say thank you enough,” she said. “Their kindness and selflessness to a complete stranger is the reason I have been able to fulfil my lifelong dream of being a mum.”
The donor’s family said that while losing their daughter had “shattered” their world, they found comfort in knowing her final act was one of generosity and encouraged others to consider organ donation.
Globally, around 25 to 30 babies have been born following deceased-donor womb transplants. Hugo is the first in the UK. Womb Transplant UK has so far carried out five transplants nationwide, with two babies born and three women currently undergoing IVF.
MRKH affects approximately one in 5,000 women in the UK. Although those with the condition have functioning ovaries and undergo puberty, they do not menstruate because the uterus is absent or underdeveloped.
