Kayla and Lance Edwards are excited to publicly announce the birth of their daughter Indy Pearl Edwards through a landmark uterus transplant clinical trial at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, a part of Baylor Scott & White Health.
"Lance and I are overjoyed to announce the birth of our miracle daughter, who we hope not only brings joy to our lives but hope to other women battling infertility," Kayla said. "We climbed every mountain possible to get here and feel so blessed."
This is the fourth birth in the uterus transplant clinical trial at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, being conducted through Baylor Scott & White Research Institute. Uterus transplantation is an innovative infertility treatment option for women with absolute uterine factor infertility, meaning their uterus is non-functioning or nonexistent.
Researchers at Baylor University Medical Center have completed 20 uterus transplants as part of the clinical trial, making it the largest program in the world. But the ultimate goal is to be able to offer this option to any woman with uterine factor infertility.
Beating the odds
After being diagnosed at the age of 16 with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a congenital disorder of the female reproductive system where there is either an underdeveloped uterus or no uterus, Kayla was told she would never be able to get pregnant. Despite the diagnosis, she continued to believe that maybe one day, with the help of medical advancements, she would carry her own child.
In early 2019, Kayla, 28, became pregnant through in vitro fertilization after receiving a transplanted uterus from an altruistic living donor in late 2017. In September 2019, Kayla and Lance welcomed their baby girl via cesarean section. The transplant and the delivery both occurred at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
The Edwards are some of the first participants to openly share their journey with the hope of raising awareness for other families battling infertility. Kayla hopes sharing her unique pregnancy journey will help raise awareness for MRKH.
"Being told at such a young age that I would never be pregnant and then looking now at my daughter is a dream come true. I hope sharing details about my battle with infertility and pregnancy journey helps raise awareness and brings hope for others in the MRKH community," Kayla said.
Unique expertise
The multi-disciplinary team at Baylor University Medical Center and Baylor Scott & White Research Institute provides a unique environment to study, counsel and provide treatment to clinical trial participants.
This is the final frontier in research for infertility. Participants like the Edwards family are true heroes. They are doing more than expanding their family, they are helping others who have been diagnosed with absolute uterine factor infertility. Each transplant brings us one step closer to understanding and providing more infertility treatment options."
Giuliano Testa, MD, principal investigator of the uterus transplant clinical trial at Baylor University Medical Center, chief of abdominal transplantation, and chairman, Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute
Philanthropic support for this innovative clinical trial was provided by Baylor Scott & White Foundation - Dallas. The Foundation is seeking additional funds to continue this work, which could potentially benefit other women with absolute uterine infertility via this pioneering procedure.
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