A woman has given birth to a baby after receiving a womb transplant, a world first, a Swedish doctor says.
The 36-year-old Swedish woman had healthy ovaries, but she was born without a uterus - a syndrome that affects one girl in 4,500.
She received a uterus from a 61-year-old family friend who had gone through menopause after giving birth to two children.
The baby boy was born prematurely but healthy last month, and he and the mother are now at home and well.
Dr Mats Brannstrom says the baby is "fantastic."
He is the professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Gothenburg and Stockholm IVF who led the research.
Details of the case are to be published soon in the medical journal, Lancet.
The identity of the woman or where she lives was not disclosed.
Both baby and mum are said to be in good health.
The father said he was delighted with his new child.
"It was a pretty tough journey over the years, but we now have the most amazing baby," he told AP.
"He is very, very cute, and he doesn't even scream, he just murmurs.
"He's no different from any other child, but he will have a good story to tell.''
A womb transplant has been tried twice before in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
In one case, the organ had to be removed after it became diseased. The other case resulted in a miscarriage.
Professor Mats Brannstrom said the birth was a joyous moment.
"That was a fantastic happiness for me and the whole team, but it was an unreal sensation also because we really could not believe we had reached this moment," he said.
"Our success is based on more than 10 years of intensive animal research and surgical training by our team and opens up the possibility of treating many young females worldwide that suffer from uterine infertility."
Dr Glenn Schattman, a fertility specialist at Cornell University, said womb transplants are likely to remain rare.
"This would not be done unless there were no other options," he said.
"It requires a very long surgery and not without risk and complications."
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