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Ten women in the United Kingdom may undergo womb transplants as part of an upcoming study, but the procedure raises some ethical issues, experts say.
The study, which is planned for next year, was just granted approval by the Health Research Authority, part of the U.K.'s Department of Health, which oversees research on humans. It will include women ages 25 to 38 who don’t have a uterus, either because they were born without one, or because they had the organ removed as treatment for a serious illness, such as cervical cancer. The researchers will use the women's own eggs to create embryos that will be implanted after the operations, according to Womb Transplant UK, the charity organization in charge of the study.
The U.K. study follows trials of the uterine transplant procedure in Sweden, where nine women had womb transplants, including one who gave birth to a child last year.
However, despite this apparent success, the procedure is still highly experimental, and the U.K. trial will differ somewhat from the one in Sweden, which could affect...