The first uterus transplant in the United States took place yesterday at the Cleveland Clinic. The patient is currently in “stable condition,” and more details about the procedure will be released next week at a press conference.

Fordham University Center for Ethics Education Bioethicist Dr. Elizabeth Yuko discussed the ethical implications of uterus transplants in a Fordham News story predicting significant news stories of 2016, as well as in two posts on Ethics & Society in January 2014 and August 2015.

The uterus transplant that took place yesterday in Cleveland differs from those that occurred in Sweden in 2014, because the recipient received the uterus from a deceased donor. The wombs transplanted in the Swedish trial all came from living donors, which raises additional ethical questions regarding living donors undergoing serious surgery for a non-life-saving transplant.

Please read Dr. Yuko’s previous discussions of this topic for further details.