Uterus Transplantation: Potential Patients, Fertility in Animal Models and Ethics

Uterus transplantation (UTx) has been suggested as an alternative to surrogacy to achieve genetic motherhood. Extensive experimental research must be done before any kind of transplantation moves to the clinical field in order to guarantee its safety and effectiveness. Since the final aim of this kind of transplantation is to accomplish motherhood, the success of UTx should be evaluated not only in terms of organ/patient survival but also in terms of functionality, which means that full-term pregnancies with healthy offspring should be considered as the measure of success. In this review we summarize the experimental studies accomplished during the last decade, using fertility as the main outcome, which we consider as the base for further development of UTx towards a clinical setting. Characteristics of potential patients and ethical concerns are also discussed.