(Image source from: Cleveland Clinic Newsroom)

A baby girl born at Cleveland Clinic early this month turned out to be the first North American to be delivered by a from a transplanted womb. The baby was born out of the uterus of a deceased donor.

Uterine transplants have helped more than a dozen women to give birth, by and large with wombs donated from a living donor. In most cases, the donors are a friend or a relative.

In December, doctors in Brazil were witness to the birth of the world's first baby using a deceased donor's womb. These transplants were steered by a Swedish doctor who did the first successful delivery five years ago.

On Tuesday, the Cleveland hospital said that the baby was born in June. Up to now, the clinic has done five uterus transplants with three being successful while the other two women are waiting to attempt pregnancy with new wombs. The clinic has a plan to enroll 10 women in its study.

Maternal-fetal medicine specialist Uma Perni, MD, who was a part of the mother's care team says that uterine transplant is a rapidly evolving field.

In a statement, Transplant surgeon Andreas Tzakis on the hospital's website said, "The transplantation of a uterus into a woman is a complex procedure that requires suppression of her immune system response. Through this research, we aim to make these extraordinary events ordinary for the women who choose this option. We are grateful to the donor. Their generosity allowed our patient's dream to come true and a new baby to be born."

Uterine transplants were revolutionized in Sweden, which is the site of the first successful procedure in 2014.

By Sowmya Sangam