catholicsphere

Once again a failed human trial is being called “successful”, this time with a transplant of a uterus from a 46-year old to a 26-year-old.Uterus Transplant Faces Technical, Ethical Hurdles

The woman receiving the uterus took powerful drugs in order to prevent rejection — a treatment that compromised her immune system. She also received hormone injections to allow the transplanted uterus to develop normally.

Ah yes … the “natural” way!

After 99 days, blood flow to the transplanted uterus stopped, and the organ was removed. No pregnancy had occurred while the uterus was inside the recipient. Still, surgeons counted the experience as a success.

Of course, there are ethical issues too …

“Let’s say that this could be done,” Silber says. “If you have a rejection anytime during pregnancy, that’s an intra-abdominal disaster. The uterus could be rejected while the fetus is still alive.”

This is in addition to the anti-rejection drugs that would need to be taken, which could also be harmful to the fetus.

It is because of these risks to mother and child that many bioethicists suggest that such operations cannot be considered feasible.

Whew! At least some are thinking reasonably.

[tags]medicine, uterus, transplant, ethics, bioethics, news, science, pro-life[/tags]