1st uterus transplant of mankind fails due to yeast infection

26 Feb 2019

The first uterus transplant in the history of mankind failed due to a yeast infection. The transplant was performed in the United States of America at the Cleveland Clinic. The transplantation took place in February this year as the 26 year old Lindsay McFarland became the first lady to undergo the operations. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic replaced the uterus of Lindsay with that of a deceased donor in a marathon 9 hour long surgery. Reports suggest that initially the transplant was considered successful but things seem different now.

Lindsay McFarland’s name was not initially released by the doctors of Cleveland Clinic, but the patient herself spoke to the press in March later. McFarland is a mother of three boys adopted through the foster system. She came up to the press two weeks after undergoing the uterus transplant surgery. It was on this Friday that the doctors had to remove the uterus from McFarland owing to the yeast infection.

In her statement in March, McFarland stated, “I was 16 and was told I would never have children and from that moment on, I’ve prayed that God would allow me that opportunity to experience pregnancy. And here we are today at the beginning of that journey”

The removal of the uterus came after a strict observation by the doctors. According to them, “We were watching her very closely. This presented in such an insidious way that it was a surprise. The complication was an infection with a fungus called candida albicans, which is ubiquitous in a lot of parts of the body, particularly female organs”

The removal surgery was taken care of by Dr. Andreas Tzakis. He also added that “Normally it resides in people without causing a problem. If someone is immunocompromised it can cause an infection.” According to the CDC, the Candida Albicans is the most common species if yeast that can an infection amongst human beings.

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