“Miracle Baby” born through transplanted uterus of deceased donor at University of Penn

History was recently made (or born, really) in the City of Brotherly Love. 

“Miracle Baby” born through transplanted uterus of deceased donor at University of Penn

Early Thursday morning it was announced that Benjamin Gobrecht was born following a uterine transplant from a deceased donor—this is a first for the Philadelphia area and only the second time a uterine transplant birth has happened in the country. 

Baby Ben was born by Cesarean section in November 2019 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, to parents Jennifer and Drew according to 6abc.com. 

It all started in 2017 when Penn launched the UNTIL trial of the transplants specifically focused on women who don’t have a functioning womb. According to 6abc.com, Jennifer Gobrecht received the transplanted uterus in 2018, and through in vitro fertilization, became pregnant in early 2019.

According to kxly.com, Jennifer found out when she was 17 that she was born without a uterus due to a rare condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, or MRKH. Jennifer and her husband Drew Gobrecht, 32, who live outside of Philadelphia, called Benjamin’s birth “a miracle.” 

“Benjamin means so much, not just to Drew and I, but to so many others, and hopefully he’ll be able to inspire other couples to try this because it worked and he’s here,” Jennifer said in the article on kxly.com.

Aside from the University of Penn, Baylor Medical Center in Texas is also conducting a clinical trial of uterine transplants—though Baylor’s studies stem from living donors rather than deceased.