First-ever ovary
transplant surgery

SAN FRANCISCO BAY, Calif. (NBC) - A woman once told she would never have children gave birth to a baby girl, thanks to an ovary transplant. Doctor who performed the first of its kind surgery, are now looking into how might benefit other women in the future. For the first time ever, doctors successfully completed a whole ovary transplant on a woman from London.

"She was a 38-year-old woman who had been menopausal since age 15, so for 22 years, she had never had a period, no estrogen production, completely sterile," said fertility expert Dr. Sherman Silber.

That woman who thought she would never be a mom gave birth.

"She delivered a 7-pound-15-ounce baby girl," said Silber.

Silber with the Infertility Center of St. Louis performed surgery. He unveiled the details at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in San Francisco. During an intricate surgery Dr. Silber transplanted an ovary from her sister.

"For the recipient, it was a very complex process of identifying these little blood vessels and reconnecting them all so that we had good blood flow without damage or blockage," said Silber.

The successful transplant brings new hope to women who were rendered sterile after cancer treatments that included chemo and radiation. It may also give women wanting to postpone motherhood more options.

"Young women in a very difficult situation where they really can't, they don't feel they can have a baby right now, can have an ovary frozen and transplanted back at a later date, maybe 10 years later and thereby expand their reproductive life span," said Silber.

Silber believes unlike ovarian tissue transplants, the whole ovary transplant could last many years.