UK Woman Gives Birth to Heaviest Baby Born via Womb Transplant from Deceased Donor Weighing 3 Kilograms

UK First: Baby Born to Mother with Womb Transplant from Deceased Donor

December 2025

Hugo Richard Norman Powell, a 6lb 13oz (3.1kg) baby boy, has become the first child in the United Kingdom to be born to a mother who received a womb from a deceased donor. The birth marks a significant milestone in the field of womb transplantation.

Grace Bell, a 30-year-old IT programme manager from southern England, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a rare condition affecting approximately one in 5,000 women in the UK. The disorder results in the absence or underdevelopment of the uterus and vagina, although patients have normal ovaries.

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In June 2024, Bell underwent a complex transplant operation at Churchill Hospital, part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The procedure involved the connection of very small blood vessels and lasted between 7 and 10 hours. Following recovery, Bell underwent in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment and embryo transfer at the Lister Fertility Clinic.

The transplant was part of a clinical research programme led by the charity Womb Transplant UK, which plans to carry out 10 womb transplants from deceased donors. This birth marks the first baby born under the programme, with three such operations completed to date.

Globally, more than 100 womb transplants have been performed, resulting in over 70 babies born. The majority of these transplants involve living donors, while around one-third are from deceased donors.

The donor's family has chosen to remain anonymous, but their parents have spoken out about their daughter's selfless act. "Losing our daughter has shattered our world... Yet even in this unimaginable pain, we've found a small measure of solace in knowing that her final act, her choice, was one of pure generosity."

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