A baby boy has become the first child in the United Kingdom (UK) to be born following a womb transplant from a deceased donor, in what surgeons have described as a medical milestone with the potential to transform fertility care.
Grace Bell, in her 30s, who was born without a functioning womb, said her son Hugo, now 10 weeks old, is “simply a miracle.”
It was said that Hugo was delivered just before Christmas 2025 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in west London, weighing nearly 7lb.
Bell and her partner, Steve Powell, from Kent, paid tribute to the “kindness and selflessness” of the donor and her family, and thanked the medical teams in Oxford and London who supported their journey.
Bell has MRKH syndrome, a rare condition affecting around one in 5,000 women in the UK, in which the womb does not develop properly.
Although she has normal ovaries, she does not have periods and was told at the age of 16 that she would not be able to carry a child.
Her womb transplant took place in June 2024 at The Churchill Hospital, in an operation lasting around 10 hours.
After recovering, the couple underwent IVF treatment and embryo transfer at The Lister Fertility Clinic.
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“When Hugo was born, it felt unreal. Waking up and seeing his little face, it was like something out of a dream,” Bell said.
The procedure was carried out as part of a UK clinical research trial exploring whether womb transplantation could become a routine treatment.
Of the 10 planned deceased-donor transplants, three have already taken place, but Hugo is the first baby to be born as a result.
Earlier in 2025, another baby, Amy, was born in the UK following a womb transplant from a living donor, after her mother received her sister’s womb.
The team behind both births has been working towards this outcome for decades, reports added.
Prof Richard Smith, a consultant gynaecologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, began researching womb transplantation more than 25 years ago and was present at Hugo’s birth.
In recognition of his role, the couple gave their son the middle name Richard. Smith also founded the charity Womb Transplant UK.
Transplant surgeon Isabel Quiroga, joint leader of the clinical team, described Hugo’s arrival as a breakthrough for organ transplantation in the UK.
To Quiroga, very few babies in Europe have been born after their mothers received wombs from deceased donors.
After completing their family, surgeons plan to remove the transplanted womb to avoid Bell needing lifelong medication to suppress her immune system.
Globally, more than 100 womb transplants have been carried out, resulting in over 70 healthy births.
The donor’s parents, who asked to remain anonymous, said they felt “tremendous pride” in their daughter’s legacy.
In addition to donating her womb, she donated five other organs, which were transplanted into four people.
“Through organ donation, she has given other families the precious gift of time, hope, healing and now life,” they said.
It was further revealed that babies born following womb transplants do not have any genetic link to the donor.