Beirut, May 2016 – Under the auspices of the Lebanese Minister of Public Health, H.E. Mr. Wael Abou Faour, The Bellevue Medical Center (BMC) has signed an agreement with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, becoming only among the first teams worldwide to perform the uterus transplant trial, which took place already in Sweden and the United States. A remarkably innovative procedure, uterus transplantation is likely to change the lives of many women who are not able to carry a pregnancy due to Uterine Factor Infertility. Chosen for its high quality standards, the trial agreement is exclusive to BMC in the MENAT region. The trial file, already filed at the Ministry of Public Health, hopes to obtain approval and begin taking place at the soonest.
It is estimated that in the MENAT region (MENA & Turkey), 100,000 women have Uterine Factor Infertility. A dedicated team of top-notch OBGYNs from BMC will be collaborating with the Swedish team, in addition to a multidisciplinary team such as transplant surgery, reproductive surgery, high-risk obstetrics, neonatology, psychiatry, and psychology. The trial requires that potential participants undergo a complex protocol and extensive medical and psychological evaluations to make sure she is a good candidate. The selected woman will maintain the transplant for as long as she needs to have children, and then have it removed, saving her from long-term use of immunosuppressive drugs.
At the University of Gothenburg, a research project led by Professor Mats Brännström has been ongoing since 1999 aiming to provide women with the possibility of having biological children with the aid of a transplanted uterus. Among those who made this dream a possibility is Lebanese-born Swedish citizen Dr. Randa Akouri. The team accomplished its first birth in September 2014, and 4 more healthy live births since.
A revolutionary procedure that gives hope to so many women, and a procedure that will undoubtedly be making history, the medical world will be eager to hear more about this first procedure in our region.