Woman becomes pregnant after sister donates her womb in life-changing 11-hour transplant

A woman who was born without a womb is now 26 weeks pregnant, thanks to her sister.

Lauren Fowler believed she would never be able to have a baby, however, her sister Kelly's womb was transplanted to her in 2025, after an 11 hour operation.

Kelly and Lauren appeared on UK TV show, ITV's This Morning, on August 17, alongside Lauren's partner David, to tell their story.

Lauren was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH syndrome), which as per Cleveland Clinic is 'is a congenital condition that causes a baby to be born with a missing uterus and an underdeveloped or missing vagina.'

Lauren suffered from Type 1, which as per the site, a person with this has 'normally functioning ovaries and fallopian tubes but a missing uterus, a missing cervix, and a blocked or missing upper vagina.' With Type 1, no other organs are affected, unlike Type 2.

Lauren had always wanted to be a mother, with her sister Kelly telling hosts Craig Doyle and Angela Scanlon that she would do 'whatever she could' to help her sister fulfil her dreams of motherhood.

Despite the transplant going well, Lauren revealed that things 'went sideways' after a week.

"I ended up having two further surgeries due to going into obstruction," she told the hosts.

"It was touch and go. It was a really hard time. Harder than the transplant itself. The transplant was so easy compared to that," she said.

Lauren's sister Kelly already had three children of her own at the time of donating her womb, which Lauren said her body has had 'no rejection' from.

"The kids are really excited to meet their cousin," Kelly said. "And the fact they've got that special bond because the shared womb that they would have had."

Lauren is due to have her baby around mid October, and the family can't wait.

On whether it's brought the sister's closer together, Kelly told Doyle and Scanlon that it 'absolutely' had.

"We've always been close anyway but I don't think we could go through something like we have and it not make a difference and bring us closer together," she said.

Lauren said she wants to share her story to give young people with the health condition the 'hope she didn't have at their age'.

Kelly’s womb was transplanted to her sister Lauren in 2025 (This Morning/YouTube)

Symptoms of MRKH Syndrome

As per Cleveland Clinic, symptoms may vary, depending on what Type a person has.

Type 2 is when someone has a ' missing uterus, a missing cervix, and a blocked or missing upper vagina.' They also have ' issues with ovaries, fallopian tubes, spine, kidneys or other organs'.

The site states that not getting a first period by 16 may be a sign of the condition. Also, those who have the condition may experience pain the first time they engage in intercourse due to the fact that their vagina may be shorter or narrower than a typical one.

Type 2 can also come with complications including missing kidneys, spine issues, heart problems and increased risk of kidney stones and/or UTIs.