NSW mum gifts her uterus to help another fulfill her motherhood dreams

A NSW woman born without a womb will now get a shot at her dream of motherhood thanks to a complete stranger’s life-changing gift.

A former ballerina who was born without a uterus says she will be forever in debt to a stranger who sacrificed her womb so that she could have a shot at becoming a mother.

While the health risks are significant, and the operation relatively ­unknown in Australia, Laura Miller still does not consider her selfless gift anything out of the ordinary – she is a mother who feels fortunate to have given birth to three healthy boys and “doesn’t need her uterus any more”.

Mrs Miller met 25 year-old Georgia Shaw only four months ago and since then the two women have ­endured a battery of medical examinations, blood tests and psychological tests before having major surgery that will bond them forever.

The man responsible for the miracle is Anthony Marren.

He and his team performed the first uterus transplant at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on February 28, which was the second operation in Australia.

Mum of three Laura Mille (left) donated her uterus to recipient Georgia Shaw. Picture: Richard Dobson

“There was a wonderful atmosphere in the operating theatre, a real buzz, nurses were volunteering to be there to witness this first case,” Dr Marren told The Sunday Telegraph.

“We had a big team, gynaecologists, vascular and transplant surgeons and two experts from Dallas so there was quite a cohort of surgeons working together.”

He described the donor and recipient as the “most easy going people”.

“Nothing is an issue for them so it’s one of those things where everyone involved really feels for this pair and everyone wants to see it go well, see it turn out to be happy,” Dr Marren said.

On the big day, full of jitters and hope, Mrs Miller was prepped for her nine-hour donor surgery that started at 7am.

“With this type of hysterectomy we need to keep blood vessels intact so that we can join them into the recipient’s blood vessels, that means this procedure is a lot more complicated than a standard hysterectomy,” the surgeon said.

RPA surgeons in the midst of the groundbreaking surgery to remove Ms Miller’s donor uterus and transplant it to Ms Shaw. Picture: Richard Dobson

“It’s similar to what we would do in a cervical cancer case. We take a much bigger amount of tissue ­because we are trying to preserve all of the blood vessels.”

The risks on top of those for a standard hysterectomy include bladder and sexual dysfunction.

As the recipient, Ms Shaw’s surgery took four hours.

“Because the recipient operation is not quite as long and complicated, she recovered a lot faster,” Dr Marren said. “Our recipient is also 20 years younger, so that helps from a recovery perspective.”

Once the donor’s uterus is taken out, it is put on ice while transplant surgeons assess its health

“They have to make sure all the blood vessels are functional and it can be used,” Dr Marren said.

“Once they say yes, we bring the recipient into another theatre with a separate surgical team and the operation begins.”

Ms Shaw is one in 5000 women born with a rare disorder that affects the reproductive system called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser Syndrome or MRKH. While her uterus is absent she has healthy ovaries.

The surgery means Ms Shaw who was born without a uterus, will have the chance to bear her own children. Picture: Richard Dobson

“Prior to the transplant she underwent IVF and we collected a good number of embryos. So the goal is to achieve pregnancy from an embryo from her eggs and partner’s sperm,” Dr Marren said.

“Now she has the womb to carry it.”

Since their discharge from hospital the women have kept in regular contact and have regular check-ups at RPA, including to check Ms Shaw for signs of rejection.

“Every two weeks becomes every four weeks, then, providing our ­recipient is getting a menstrual cycle, we will be looking to do an embryo transfer at the three month mark,” Dr Marren said.

In the days leading up to the major surgery, the women were amazingly calm. Mrs Miller told The Sunday Telegraph the decision to help a stranger was an easy one.

“I have always been vocal about wanting to help someone who couldn’t have children, whether that be donating eggs, or whatever,” she said from her south coast home.

“I had babies easily, so when a family member asked me if I was willing to donate my uterus, I said ‘yes, who needs it”.

On the Mid North Coast, Ms Shaw was preparing for the procedure that could change the course of her life.

Ms Shaw and her partner Denam Glasson, pictured just hours beforethe life-changing surgery. Picture: Richard Dobson

Discovering at 19 she was suffering MRKH syndrome, she had to come to terms with the reality she may never conceive.

“I was a dancer growing up, trained professionally and I danced overseas professionally, and it wasn’t that ­unusual for people around me not to have had a period because of how physically active we were,” she said.

“When I was 19, though, I decided to go to a doctor as I still hadn’t had a period yet. I wasn’t too worried, ­because I thought it was because of all the dancing. They sent me for lots of tests and a scan found I had MRKH.

“When the reality set in I realised I didn’t have the parts to carry a child.”

Georgia and her partner, Denam, decided to go down the surrogacy route, when a specialist told her about the option of a uterus transplant.

“This whole journey has been such an emotional rollercoaster,” she said.

“The criteria for finding a donor who was going to be the perfect match was very lengthy and we came across many obstacles.

“We actually had a few women put their hand up to be our donor but ­unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, they weren’t suitable.”

“Then we found out about Laura on Christmas Eve. My mum found her, she did all the scouting. She put it out to all her friends that her daughter needed a donor. It’s a little bit of an awkward thing to do but Laura was amazing and made this entire experience so easy.”

The surgery was successful, and Ms Miller and Ms Shaw have formed a strong bond. Picture: Richard Dobson

The women have a deep, ­mutual admiration for one another.

“Laura is absolutely amazing and selfless. Her laid-back attitude has put me at ease and she’s made this experience enjoyable,” Ms Shaw said.

“It’s crazy to think this can even be done, and for someone to do it even knowing the risks … I can never repay her.”

For Mrs Miller, it is knowing she has given Ms Shaw not only a chance to dream of family, but giving her the tools to make it a ­reality.