pregnancy

Henry was grown inside a womb donated by his grandmother.

Henry Bryant is a normal, happy three-month-old baby boy. 

But his conception story is anything but ordinary. 

Welcomed into the world on December 15, 2023, by Kirsty and Nick Bryant, he is the first baby in Australia born from a transplanted uterus as part of a clinical trial at Sydney's Royal Hospital for Women.

Watch: Henry Bryant, his mum and his grandma, made Australian history.


Video via 60 Minutes

His mum Kirsty, 33, had an emergency hysterectomy after suffering a major haemorrhage after the birth of her first child Violet in 2021.

Throughout the ordeal, she lost around 11 litres of blood and was put in an induced coma for 48 hours.

The young family desperately wanted another child. So Henry's grandmother, 55-year-old Michelle, donated her uterus to her daughter in January last year in an Australian first. 

The duo were perfect candidates for the clinical trial. Michelle met all the relevant criteria to be a womb donor - she was fit, perimenopausal, and willing to hand over her uterus without anything in return. 

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It was a mammoth 18-hour operation performed by Gynaecologist Dr Rebecca Deans and Swedish surgeon Dr Mats Brännström who performed the world's first successful uterus transplant leading to live birth. 

There was a high risk of failure of the organ, but all went to plan. After a successful transplant, Kirsty underwent fertility treatments and fell pregnant three months later. 

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"I don't think Kirsty in January knew what Kirsty in December would have gone through," she told 60 Minutes on Sunday night.

Kirsty and her son, Henry. Image: Royal Hospital for Women. 

But it wasn't easy. Considered a high-risk pregnancy, Kirsty was on a lot of medication including immune suppression drugs, and was monitored very closely. 

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"The uterus transplant clinical trial has been equal parts difficult and amazing. It's a full-time job, and there are no guarantees," she said.

Baby Henry made a calm entry into the world via a planned cesarean just in time for Christmas. With no nerves connected to her new uterus, Kirsty wouldn't have been able to feel any contractions.

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"This trial is the culmination of 25 years of collaborative research and persistence on a global scale so to be able to see a baby born here in Australia is incredible," said Dr Deans of Henry's arrival into the world. 

"He arrived with a healthy cry and totally oblivious to the fact he’s entered the history books."

For Kirsty and her mum, it's beyond anything they thought possible just a few short years ago.

"It's mind-blowing to think, in one calendar year I gave my uterus to Kirsty and she actually had a baby in the same year," Michelle told 60 Minutes.

Postpartum, Kirsty has also had complications. She has struggled with a lot of infection because of her weak immune system including four bouts of mastitis requiring hospital admission. 

"I was so unwell," she told 60 Minutes. "It's the anti-rejection medication that lowers your immune system that plays havoc with your body and your life." 

Michelle has also had complications since the transplant, the most serious being a loss of bladder control. 

Kirsty and her mother Michelle have made Australian history. Image: 60 Minutes.

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But would they do it again? Hell yeah. 

"He is my miracle baby, and he's perfect," said Kirsty.

Since the mother-daughter duo had their transplant surgery, two more women have undergone the same procedure at Sydney's Royal Hospital for Women and the trial has approval for a further three surgeries.

One of those recipients is now pregnant. 

Feature image: @myuterustransplantaus.

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