Mr Benjamin Jones and Dr Maria Jalmbrant, from the UK uterine transplant team, both became founding members of the International Society of Uterine Transplantation (ISUTx) at its inaugural meeting which was held in Gothenburg on 8th-9th January.

Mr Benjamin Jones pictured with Professor Mats Brannstrom from the Swedish team and Dr Sarah Schott from the uterine transplant team from Germany

The meeting was attended by 21 different centres from 18 different countries around the world and included healthcare professionals from various disciplines such as gynaecological surgeons, transplant surgeons, fetal medicine specialists and psychologists. It was an interesting and academically stimulating meeting, which created a platform for the teams to share experiences with the ultimate aim to advance the field of uterine transplantation. Going forward, it will enable the establishment of official recommendations for requirements prior to commencement of clinical programmes and facilitate collaboration between teams to optimise progression. Furthermore, plans were made to create an international registry for recipients, donors and babies which would enable the appropriate regulation to ensure performance and safety monitoring can be undertaken. Such developments are a vital progressive step for the field of uterine transplantation.

The next meeting is planned for September 2017 where it is expected our UK team will have a lot to share with the other teams.