World's first womb transplant patient describes having her baby using her mother's uterus
Emelie Eriksson, of Bergshamra, Sweden, received a uterus transplant from her mother and later gave birth to her son Albin with the very same womb that bore her. “This is something that you read in history books and now in the future when you read about this, it’s about me.”
Eriksson was born without a womb and therefore unable to bear children. She was one of the first to undergo this revolutionary operation. The life work of doctor, Mats Brannstrom.
Names
Daniel Chrysong (father Albin) 1:02
Emelie Eriksson (mother Albin) 1:23
Mats Brännström, Gynecologist 3:03
Credits: Polygooi Productions
Report/Research :Cornelis van Groesen
Camera: Rob Vermaas
Scipt and narration
1: 00: 00: 05: 13 00: 00: 09: 16 04:03
When he wakes up in the morning,
he has a big smile on his face.
2: 00: 00: 11: 13 00: 00: 15: 02 03:14
He just takes on the world.
3: 00: 00: 15: 05 00: 00: 17: 22 02:17
He’s very charming, and gets a lot smiles
4: 00: 00: 18: 00 00: 00: 22: 22 04:22
When we go out to the stores
5: 00: 00: 23: 20 00: 00: 26: 12 02:17
Full of energy.
6: 00: 00: 26: 15 00: 00: 28: 17 02:02
A bundle of joy.
7: 00: 00: 28: 20 00: 00: 32: 09 03:14
Reporter: He’s your little miracle?
- Yes, he is my miracle. Well, our miracle actually.
0:35
VO: We are in the Swedish town of Bergshamra, an hour's drive above Stockholm. A beautiful green area with many forests. You would say an ideal environment for a young child. And Albin Eriksson is a very special child. He was born from of the same womb as his mother.
8: 00: 00: 55: 00 00: 00: 58: 11 03:11
Hey. I'm Koen.
9: 00: 00: 58: 14 00: 01: 01: 15 03:01
My name is Koen.
- Albin.
10: 00: 01: 02: 15 00: 01: 06: 01 03:11
It's science fiction.
11: 00: 01: 06: 04 00: 01: 09: 21 03:17
I never thought it would be possible.
1:11
VO: Albin’s birth is truly a miracle. When his mother Emilie was 15 she received some earth-shattering news. She was born without a uterus and would never be able to give birth.
12: 00: 01: 23: 06 00: 01: 28: 08 05:02
It is devastating, because you always know...
That ev
13: 00: 01: 28: 11 00: 01: 33: 10 04:24
Even if you are very young
and playing with dolls ...
14: 00: 01: 33: 13 00: 01: 38: 07 04:19
... you always have this dream
That you will have a family.
15: 00: 01: 38: 10 00: 01: 43: 00 04:15
A big house, a car, a dog,
and then your own children.
16: 00: 01: 43: 03 00: 01: 45: 04 02:01
That is the dream you have.
17: 00: 01: 45: 07 00: 01: 49: 19 04:12
And then when someone takes away that dream ...
18: 00: 01: 49: 22 00: 01: 53: 20 03:23
... then something is missing.
You have a void in you.
19: 00: 01: 56: 16 00: 02: 02: 05 05:14
And then I met Daniel, that’s when ...
20: 00: 02: 02: 08 00: 02: 06: 14 04:06
... I began to think in those terms:
21: 00: 02: 06: 17 00: 02: 12: 20 06:03
What are we supposed to do
if we want to have a family?
22: 00: 02: 12: 23 00: 02: 14: 17 01:19
What are we going to do?
23: 00: 02 : 16: 23 00: 02: 28: 15
VO: Some friends told them about a radical new operation. At the academic hospital in Gothenburg, a surgeon called Mats Brannstrom wants to perform the world’s first womb transplant.
24: 00: 02: 29: 20 00: 02: 32: 24 03:04
I did not really think very much about it.
24: 00: 02: 33: 02 00: 02: 37: 16 04:14
I was more like ‘yeah! let's do this
This is just awesome.’
25: 00: 02: 37: 19 00: 02: 43: 10 05:16
Daniel was the one who was thinking
what if.
26: 00: 02: 43: 13 00: 02: 48: 20 05:07
You have more chance of winning the lottery
then to do this.
27: 00: 02: 48: 23 00: 02: 53: 15 04:17
And I said, We'll see later.
2:54
VO: We meet up with this “miracle” doctor, as he prepares for surgery. He was exposed to this revolutionary idea by a patient, when he was working in Australia.
28: 00: 03: 03: 19 00: 03: 07: 04 03:10
I had to operate on a young patient,
Her name was Angela.
29: 00: 03: 07: 07 00: 03: 10: 17 03:10
She had cervical cancer.
She was 25.
30: 00: 03: 10: 20 00: 03: 14: 09 03:14
I had to remove her uterus with a radical hystorectomy.
31: 00: 03: 14: 12 00: 03: 17: 09 02:22
I told her you have your ovaries preserved ...
32: 00: 03: 17: 12 00: 03: 21: 21 04:09
... but you can not carry child
As you will not have a womb.
33: 00: 03: 21: 24 00: 03: 26: 00 04:01
And she said: Is this a problem. Can’t you
do a uterus transplantation?
34: 00: 03: 26: 03 00: 03: 29: 18 03:15
And she actually told me my mother or my
Sister could donate
35: 00: 03: 29: 21 00: 03: 32: 15 02:19
I was astonished, I had never thought about this.
36: 00: 03: 32: 18 00: 03: 36: 18 04:00
And we said well, we should start a research project on this.
37: 00: 03: 36: 21 00: 03: 41: 21 05:00
First, see if it worked in rodents,
starting with mice.
38: 00: 03: 41: 24 00: 03: 47: 17 05:18
After two, three years, we had
good results with the mice.
39: 00: 03: 47: 20 00: 03: 51: 02 03:07
Reporter: You came closer and closer to humans?
40: 00: 03: 51: 05 00: 03: 54: 17 03:12
I had estimated it would take about five years ...
41: 00: 03: 54: 20 00: 03: 59: 02 04:07
... but in the end it
lasted 14, 15 years.
4:00
VO: Doctor Brannstrom is ready for the first operation on a human. The candidates must be suitable, but also having a willing donor within the family. Transplants from family members have a lower chance of rejection.
42: 00: 04: 11: 19 00: 04: 15: 05 03:11
I told my mom about the project.
43: 00: 04: 15: 08 00: 04: 17: 24 02:16
And she said to me:
44: 00: 04: 18: 02 00: 04: 23: 06 05:04
"If I give you my womb,
would it work? "
45: 00: 04: 23: 09 00: 04: 27: 22 04:13
And I said: Yes, that's the plan.
46: 00: 04: 28: 00 00: 04: 34: 17 06:17
My mother in law is terrified
for anesthesia.
47: 00: 04: 36: 04 00: 04: 40: 08 04:04
Afraid she will never wake up.
48: 00: 04: 41: 12 00: 04: 45: 14 04:02
It was no ordinary operation.
You did not know how it would go ...
49: 00: 04: 45: 17 00: 04: 48: 16 02:24
... with my mother or me.
4:50
VO: The operation is so complex that they begin at the crack of dawn.
50: 00: 04: 55: 18 00: 05: 02: 01 06:08
Of course we try to sleep well,
because it is a time consuming operation.
51: 00: 05: 02: 04 00: 05: 06: 06 04:02
It is a long day starting
from 7 am to 10 pm.
52: 00: 05: 06: 09 00: 05: 08: 20 02:11
With a large surgical team ...
53: 00: 05: 08: 23 00: 05: 13: 02 04:04
... about ten doctors
and a lot of nurses.
54: 00: 05: 13: 05 00: 05: 16: 18 03:13
The same team, that for years
had practiced with animals.
55: 00: 05: 16: 21 00: 05: 20: 06 03:10
So trained exactly at
what we are best at.
56: 00: 05: 21: 04 00: 05: 25: 06 04:02
The night before the operation.
I did not sleep.
57: 00: 05: 25: 09 00: 05: 29: 03 03:19
I got at the hospital, nervous.
58: 00: 05: 29: 06 00: 05: 34: 00 04:19
Freshly showered
with that hospital soap.
5:38
VO: First, the womb is removed from Emelie’s mother. The operation is technically challenging.
59: 00: 05: 46: 01 00: 05: 49: 04 03:03
The problem is we have to get
very long blood vessels
60: 00: 05: 49: 07 00: 05: 52: 15 03:08
And the problem with the uterus is that it ...
61: 00: 05: 52: 18 00: 05: 56: 19 04:01
... is located down in the pelvis, in a sort of funnel.
62: 00: 05: 56: 22 00: 06: 00: 08 03:11
So we have very little exposure
to get to the vessels.
6:02
VO: Therefore the uterus is removed with the blood vessels attached and then placed on ice. The blood vessels are continuously rinsed with preservative. Then the uterus is transplated into the recipient.
63: 00: 06: 15: 04 00: 06: 20: 05 05:01
And then we release the clamps
and it is connected
on the circulatory system of the recipient.
64: 00: 06: 21: 02 00: 06: 23: 07 02:05
Then it is alive again.
65: 00: 06: 23: 10 00: 06: 26: 20 03:10
We realized we had done something big.
66: 00: 06: 26: 23 00: 06: 29: 22 02:24
Of course I was hoping for this ...
67: 00: 06: 30: 00 00: 06: 34: 11 04:11
... but I was only assured
when it was successful.
6:34
VO: The operation was a resounding success. This was the first ever womb transplant. But there is always the chance of rejection. Which seems to be the case with Emelie.
68: 00: 06: 47: 14 00: 06: 52: 20 05:06
But then when you body rejects it…
It is like: NO!
69: 00: 06: 52: 23 00: 06: 56: 13 03:15
No, not now we have come so far.
70: 00: 06: 56: 16 00: 07: 01: 11 04:20
And no one could really tell me
whether it would be all right again..
7:02
VO: Eventually, they found medication to manage the rejection. And one year after the surgery, a fertilized embryo was placed in Emilie’s uterus.
71: 00: 07: 11: 18 00: 07: 16: 18 05:00
The doctor gave me a pregnancy test
I had take it after a few weeks.
72: 00: 07: 16: 21 00: 07: 20: 10 03:14
I did, but when it was negative.
73: 00: 07: 20: 13 00: 07: 23: 08 02:20
That was terrible.
74: 00: 07: 23: 11 00: 07: 27: 07 03:21
Then after a week she still didn’t get her period.
75: 00: 07: 27: 10 00: 07: 30: 15 03:05
I said, do another test.
76: 00: 07: 30: 18 00: 07: 33: 19 03:01
And then I could see that I was pregnant.
Yeah…
77: 00: 07: 44: 10 00: 07: 50: 00 05:15
When Albin was born, he began
screaming. And I realized:
78: 00: 07: 50: 03 00: 07: 53: 08 03:05
This is quite real.
79: 00: 07: 53: 11 00: 07: 58: 13 05:02
I have a child, we are a family.
This is our own son.
80: 00: 07: 58: 16 00: 08: 01: 20 03:04
I fainted.
81: 00: 08: 01: 23 00: 08: 05: 01 03:03
All the emotions?
- It was just too much.
8:06
VO: Albin was born by caesarean section, performed by Dr Brannstrom himself. His dream, which he had been researching for 15 years, had become a reality.
82: 00: 08: 17: 01 00: 08: 23: 11 06:10
I have five children myself
and I know how great it is.
83: 00: 08: 23: 14 00: 08: 27: 14 04:00
My greatest reward
is to see the families together.
84: 00: 08: 27: 17 00: 08: 32: 18 05:01
Emelie and her husband send me
photos and videos of Albin.
85: 00: 08: 32: 21 00: 08: 36: 13 03:17
Then I see how happy
I made them.
86: 00: 08: 37: 13 00: 08: 40: 23 03:10
What will we write?
- Mom.
Mamma. Pappa. Albin.
87: 00: 08: 51: 10 00: 08: 56: 05 04:20
Albin is maybe part of a new
future, also for Dutch women.
88: 00: 08: 56: 08 00: 09: 00: 22 04:14
I sincerely hope
that an operation like this ...
89: 00: 09: 01: 00 00: 09: 06: 07 05:07
... gives an opportunity for everyone,
anywhere in the world.
90: 00: 09: 09: 13 00: 09: 13: 06 03:18
Because it is just super for everyone.
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