‘It was meant to be!’ Woman who received uterus transplant from her mother announces pregnancy

A woman who received a uterus transplant from her mother has announced she is pregnant with her second child.

Kirsty Bryant, 30, from Coff’s Harbor on the north coast of New South Wales, lost her uterus during an emergency hysterectomy to give birth to her and husband Nick’s first child, Violet, in April 2021.

When she awoke from her induced coma 48 hours later, the new mom was left devastated after being told she would never carry another baby.

But on January 10, Kirsty and her mother Michelle Hayton, 54, underwent marathon surgery at Sydney’s Royal Hospital for Women to give her another chance at motherhood.

In a new interview with ABCKirsty has revealed that she is now seven weeks pregnant with her second baby – having fully recovered from the 16-hour surgery.

Kirsty said, “It almost feels like it’s meant to be, but it’s still sinking in that I’m going to have another baby at the end of the year.

“It’s so amazing that my body can do this and that my mom gave me this as a gift.”

Plus, Kirsty says Michelle is “over the moon” about the good news.

Rebecca Deans – Kirsty’s gynecologist – said the mother-to-be will be closely monitored in the coming months as she is considered to be a high-risk pregnancy.

However, the doctor says the uterus – which Kirsty was also carrying – shows “absolutely no signs of it.” [rejecting]’ the pregnancy.

Because Kirsty’s nerves aren’t connected to her new uterus, she won’t be able to feel her contractions when she goes into labour.

As a result, the expectant mother of two is expected to have a cesarean section when she is 37 weeks old.

During a TV interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Michelle shared how excited she was to have helped Kirsty and Nick on their journey to having another child.

Pictured: Kirsty and her husband Nick receive the happy news from their doctor that she is seven weeks pregnant

Kirsty hopes she can have two more children with her mother’s uterus, which she received during a 16-hour surgery in January

Presenter Sylvia Jeffreys said: ‘You know, a lot of people will think what you’ve done is totally altruistic – giving your womb away without getting anything in return.

‘But you’ll get something, won’t you? Of all this?’

Michelle couldn’t hide her joy and replied, “A grandchild!”

Discussing how she felt about the prospect of giving birth again, Kirsty said, “I’ll do my best and I know I’ll have my mom there.” She holds my hand on one side and I hold my husband on the other.’

Shortly after the operation, Kirsty told the TV channel that she hopes to have two more children with the help of the transplanted uterus.

She has five years to do this, because the strong drugs used to prevent her body from rejecting the organ cannot be used safely for an extended period of time.

Michelle said she didn’t hesitate for a second when asked.

“She’s not just my daughter, she’s my best friend and I would do anything to help her on her journey,” she said.

However, she admitted to being surprised when her daughter rang the doorbell with the request.

She said the conversation started with Ms. Bryant asking, “Hey mom, what do you think about having a hysterectomy and giving me your uterus?”

And I was like, ‘Excuse me? Mr. Bryant recalled. ‘ I said, ‘Really? Is that a thing?’.’

Ms Hayton had to go under the knife for 11 hours to have her uterus removed and it took four hours to place it in Ms Bryant.

The first transplant in 2012 gave birth to two babies and since then there have been 90 successful transplants worldwide, resulting in 50 births.