Experience: I had a baby using a donated uterus

The doctor told me I'd be lucky to see uterine transplants happen in my lifetime. But I never gave up hope

When I was 17, my periods still hadn't started. Blood tests and ultrasound scans confirmed the devastating news: I had Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome - I had been born without a uterus. One in 5,000 women have the condition. I had functioning ovaries, which could help me make a baby, but without a womb, I couldn't carry one.

I stared at the medical drapes in front of me and tried to keep breathing. Couldn't I have a uterus transplant?" I asked the doctor, only to be told that I'd be lucky to see the procedure developed in my lifetime.