A mothers’ meetup like no other for families formed through uterus transplant
One week before Mother’s Day, those who gave birth through uterus transplant gathered for a special brunch with those who donated their uteruses for the procedure, and their respective families.
2 min. read
A week before Mother’s Day, those who gave birth to their babies through a remarkable and rare procedure—uterus transplant—gathered together for a special brunch with others who donated their uteruses for the procedure, and their respective families. The event welcomed clinicians, administrative staff, social workers, and researchers to celebrate the Penn Medicine uterus transplant program—and motherhood.
“Seeing you here and caring for all of you has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life,” Kate O’Neill, an obstetrician/gynecologist specializing in fertility at the Perelman School of Medicine, and the program’s co-leader, told the attendees. “I’m really appreciative. So, thank you.”
Worldwide, there have been roughly 100 transplants resulting in around 70 live births in the decade of practice. A little over 20 different centers have performed at least one uterus transplant, and only four centers in the United States have active programs; one of those is at Penn, led by O’Neill and Nawar Latif, both assistant professors of obstetrics and gynecology and Penn’s chief of Transplant Surgery, Kim Olthoff.
Jen Gobrecht was in attendance with her 5-year-old son Ben and husband Drew. As the first Penn uterus transplant recipient, everyone knew her story. She had spoken to several recipients and donors personally about her experience over the years, answering questions about what to expect. And Jen’s journey to motherhood, captured on video by Penn and included on the cover of People magazine, not only put potential participants at ease, but also their families.
“Things have mostly quieted down,” said Drew Gobrecht. “We’re just raising Ben.” He smiled, pointing to his son who was dressed in a University of Pennsylvania T-shirt. “It was definitely surreal, but we were happy to do it. Penn gave us so much!”
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