Chelsea Jovanovich always wanted to be a mom, but a condition meant that her uterus never fully developed. A uterus transplant made her dreams come true.
Chelsea Jovanovich hoped to be a mom, but carrying a baby seemed impossible due to a rare condition. When she heard about the uterus transplant program at Penn Medicine, she applied and was accepted.“The first time I got pregnant, it was unreal,” Jovanovich told TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones. “It was really hard for me to accept that I was pregnant, so I didn’t savor it as much. So, the second pregnancy I … wasn’t as worried. So, I was able to enjoy it a little bit more.
“My mom saw a story about having the uterus transplants. And she said, ‘You know, there is hope. You know, you should look into this. You might be able to have a baby,’” Jovanovich recalled. “I decided to take a chance. And here I am today, which is still a dream.” Jovanovich needed to take immunosuppressing drug so that her body wouldn’t reject the new organ. It caused her some side effects, including hair loss, tremors and headaches. While uterus transplants are still considered experimental, O’Neill said they offer choices to women without a uterus or who have uterine problems.
“We want these women to be able to stop taking … that immunosuppressive regimen that can have long term effects,” she said. “With uterus transplant, when they have completed their childbearing, we take the uterus out. They’re able to stop their medications. And then life goes relatively back to normal for them.”
This program uses uteri from both living and deceased donors. Jovanovich met her donor, Cheryl Urban, and they became friends.
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