Meet Hugo, the first baby born in the UK after womb transplant from dead donor

A baby boy has become the first child in the UK to be born to a mother who received a womb from a dead donor.

Hugo Powell was delivered weighing 6lb 13oz (3.1kg) in December at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

The transplant marks the first birth in the UK using a womb from a deceased donor, with only two previous cases ever reported in Europe.

Last year surgeons announced the UK’s first baby born from a womb transplant involving a living donor.

In the latest case, Hugo’s mother, Grace Bell, an IT programme manager, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition resulting in an underdeveloped or missing womb.

His father, Steve Powell, works in finance, and the couple, who are both in their 30s, live in southern England.

Ms Bell, who was diagnosed with MRKH when she was 16, told the Press Association: “It’s simply a miracle. I never, ever thought that this would be possible.

“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

Describing Hugo’s birth by Caesarean section, she said: “I remember there was lots and lots of people in the room running around.

“I was holding Steve’s hand at the time…

“I remember trying to peek over the drapes, and Hugo finally got put in my arms, and this being the moment that everyone has been working so hard to achieve.

“Since I was 16, I never thought this was going to be possible. So it really is a miracle.

“It just felt quite unreal at the time because this has been a long journey for us both.

“I remember waking up in the morning and seeing his little face, with his little dummy in, and it felt like I needed to wake up from a dream.

“It was just incredible.”

Mr Powell said: “When he came over the curtain, it was just sort of overwhelming emotions. I felt like I wanted to cry but couldn’t.

“From where we started – first meeting – to where we are today, with Hugo, is nothing short of a miracle after everything we’ve been through.”

Ms Bell said she thinks of her womb donor every day and the generosity of the donor’s family.

“There are no words to say thank you enough to my donor and her family,” she said.

“Their kindness and selflessness to a complete stranger is the reason I have been able to fulfil my lifelong dream of being a mum.

“I hope they know that my child will always know of their incredible gift, and the miracle that brought him into this world.

“I think of my donor and her family every day and pray they find some peace in knowing their daughter gave me the biggest gift, the gift of life.

“A part of her will live on forever.”

Breaking down in tears, Ms Bell said the couple were “in disbelief” when they discovered she was pregnant, adding: “I felt the luckiest girl in the world.”

She added: “This isn’t a life-saving donation but it is a life-giving one.

“From the moment of my diagnosis, every birthday when I blew out my candles, I would wish for this – to be able to experience pregnancy.

“I want the donor’s family to know how much of a gift they have given to me.

“They have fulfilled all of my dreams, everything has come true.”

Five other organs from the donor were transplanted into four people, saving the lives of others.

Her parents said: “Losing our daughter has shattered our world in ways we can barely put into words.

“The grief is overwhelming and the ache of her absence is something we will carry forever.

“Yet even in this unimaginable pain, we’ve found a small measure of solace in knowing that her final act, her choice, was one of pure generosity.

“Through organ donation, she has given other families the precious gift of time, hope, healing and now life.

“As her parents, we feel tremendous pride at the legacy she leaves behind – a legacy of compassion, courage and love that continues to touch lives even after her passing.

“We urge others to consider donation so that more people in desperate need may be given the chance to live, just as our daughter so selflessly wished.”

Describing how she felt when told as a teenager that she had no womb, Ms Bell said she remembers “going into the hospital toilets and uncontrollably crying”.

On meeting Mr Powell, she told him “straight away” of her diagnosis, she said.

The couple had chosen a surrogacy route in order to have a family but then became involved in the womb transplant programme.

They decided to give Hugo the middle name Richard, after Professor Richard Smith, clinical lead of the charity Womb Transplant UK and consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Hugo was also given the name Norman in honour of Ms Bell’s grandfather, so his full name is Hugo Richard Norman Powell.

Prof Smith, who was present at the birth, told PA: “It’s been an unbelievable journey.

“Our whole team has been hanging together now for years and years to make this happen.

“So to me, it’s been fantastic, just amazing.”

On holding baby Hugo and hearing he would be given his name, Prof Smith said: “This brought a tear to my eye.

“As the baby was handed over, the parents said they were actually going to call the baby Hugo Richard.

“I’ve delivered over 1,000 babies in my life. Never has a baby been named after me.

“That did make me cry, straight up. It’s been quite emotional, very emotional.”

Prof Smith said the atmosphere in the room was “absolutely filled with joy”.

He said: “There was massive joy when the baby was born, this new life in the world. It was fantastic.”

About 25 to 30 babies have been born worldwide from deceased womb donation.

More than two thirds of womb transplants generally involve living donors, while a third come from deceased donors.

Isabel Quiroga, consultant surgeon and clinical lead for organ retrieval at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals, carried out the seven-hour womb transplant on Ms Bell there in 2024.

Several months later, Ms Bell underwent fertility treatment at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London.

Miss Quiroga said: “It has been a long journey, and certainly we are delighted, especially for our patient, who’s been in our programme for a good number of years.

“Her dream has been to be a mother, so we are totally elated.”

Miss Quiroga said the donor family’s decision to donate their daughter’s organs “saved multiple lives”.

She added: “In deciding to also then donate her womb, they have also helped to create a new life. This is extraordinary and we now have a healthy baby boy.”

Ms Bell and Mr Powell may decide to have a second baby, after which surgeons will remove the transplanted womb.

If it was left in situ, Ms Bell would face a lifetime of immunosuppressant drugs, which carry risks.

Womb Transplant UK has now performed and paid for five womb transplants in the UK so far – two involving a living donor and three using a deceased donor.

Two babies have been born and three transplant patients have not had a baby yet, but are undergoing private IVF.

“They have functioning transplants,” Miss Quiroga said. “So far, we haven’t had any technical failures – and they are at different stages with IVF and embryo transfer.”

Hugo’s birth follows the UK’s first womb transplant in 2023, which involved Grace Davidson, another MRKH patient, receiving a womb – also called the uterus – from her older sister, Amy, in a living donation.

Transplants from deceased donors only happen when the families of those who have died are asked specifically if they wish to donate the womb.

The womb is not covered by the normal consent for donation, nor by joining the organ donor register, and it is not covered by deemed consent (which presumes people want to donate unless they opt out).

Becky Clarke, regional head of nursing for the Midlands and South Central Organ Donation Teams at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Our specialist nurses for organ donation are highly trained, experienced nurses who will speak to families at the time their loved one has sadly died, and approach them around organ donation.

“They will check whether the person’s on the Organ Donor Register, and then speak with the family and see whether it’s something they’re in agreement with.

“Once we’ve ascertained that, then we would seek further consent from the families and approach them if they want to consider, as an extra consent, to womb donation.

“Our experience of approaching the small number of families is the vast majority have immediately wanted to agree.

“They think it’s a wonderful thing to do.

“We are very grateful to any families who choose to give the additional consent for donation to this programme.”