A 26-year-old woman who received the first transplanted uterus in the United States says she is looking forward to getting pregnant next year.

“I was told at 16 I would never have children,” said Lindsey, who did not give her last name to protect the privacy of her three adopted sons.

“From that moment on I prayed that God would allow me the opportunity to experience pregnancy.”

Lindsey, who was born without a uterus and received a womb from a deceased donor in her 30s, read a brief statement to reporters at a news conference.

“First and foremost I would like to take a moment to express the immense gratitude I feel towards my donor’s family,” the 26-year-old said.  “They have provided me with a gift I will never be able to repay and I am beyond thankful for them.”

She was in a wheelchair and is still staying at the hospital for monitoring, ABC reports.

The transplant, done in a nine-hour surgery on February 24, was the first of 10 uterine transplants planned as part of a clinical trial at the Cleveland Clinic, which has screened 250 potential recipients.

The team of surgeons conducting the trial said they worked closely with doctors in Sweden, where five babies have been born since 2014 to mothers with transplanted wombs.

Lindsey must wait a year to get pregnant, until she is on a lower dose of anti-rejection drugs, the doctors said.

After one or two babies, the uterus will be removed so that she does not have to spend her whole life on anti-rejection drugs, the doctors said.

Embryos from her eggs and her husband’s sperm will be implanted in her uterus.

She cannot conceive through intercourse because the uterine transplant does not include the fallopian tubes.

The baby will be delivered by caesarean section as close as possible to its due date, the doctors said.

“Uterus transplant is not just about a surgery and moving a uterus from here to there,” said obstetrics and gynaecology surgeon Rebecca Flyckt.

“It’s about having a healthy baby and that goal is still a couple of years away.”

Good luck to them! We wish her all the best.

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