A medical university in Aichi Prefecture said Monday it will prepare to conduct clinical trials for womb transplants within the next few years.
Fujita Health University said it is considering the transplants for three women who cannot conceive or give birth naturally, including at least one born without a uterus.
Eventually, it plans to offer the procedure to women who had their wombs surgically removed due to cancer.
The school made the announcement after holding the first meeting of a working group on the womb transplant research. It hopes to apply by year-end for screening by a school panel.
The university said it will proceed with the plans while making sure the procedure can gain understanding in society at large.
“We have no doubt there are patients who will benefit from this,” said Iori Kisu, the working group leader and professor of obstetrics and gynecology, during Monday’s meeting.
A patient who received a womb through a transplant would try to conceive using her frozen eggs fertilized with her partner’s sperm.
Among the ethical considerations is that patients and donors would both face potentially serious risks during the surgery, although lacking a womb is not itself a life-threatening condition.
In a report compiled in 2021, a panel of the Japanese Association of Medical Sciences greenlit a limited number of clinical trials. A screening panel at Keio University, where Kisu previously worked, also approved clinical trials in 2025, but none have occurred yet.
Over 150 uterus transplants have been conducted overseas, with more than 70 children born as a result, according to the professor. An examination by the International Society of Uterus Transplantation of 91 cases at 24 medical institutions between the years 2000 and 2024 showed that 36 expectant mothers gave birth to 44 babies.
Of those mothers, 27 had complications, including hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, and 33 gave birth before the 37-week mark, a situation known as preterm birth.
© KYODO
