#watch out for signs of internal bleeding. watch out for signs of kidney failure. watch out for signs of liver failure

[elprupneerg]

Spending breakfast reading the instructions and side effects of my new meds and organizing my new pill reminder box was. Maybe. Not the best thing for my anxiety

[archerofthemists]

Althea and Tyrian oneshot.

ANGST. Blood, gore. Near death experiences. Love realization. You have been warned.

I'll use you as a warning sign

That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

In the time since she had joined them, Althea and Tyrian had become one of the most lethal teams in Remnant. With Salem's order, Tyrian had trained Althea in better hand to hand combat, which she was grateful for. Her bow, Death's Sigh was all but useless when she was close to an opponent. She became skilled with a set of curved knives and she made some alterations to her main weapon. 

The task should have been simple and easy. It would be four of them, Tyrian, Althea, Watts and Hazel. Tyrian and Althea after one target, Watts and Hazel after another in another part of the city. Grimm had come in acting as a perfect distraction. The deaths of their important targets would spread discourse through the people and bring even more Grimm. So easy…

And yet…

Althea's aura was low and Tyrian's was almost broken, not that he stopped fighting. They had been unexpectedly outnumbered and the toughest of the group had a Semblance that blocked all emotions. Althea had to admit, it was a nice Semblance when fighting. No one could get under your skin with banter and it could let you do certain things without flinching. 

But considering it made her own Semblance useless against him, it really pissed her off.

She and Tyrian had taken down most of the team, who lay dead or badly injured. The only two left standing were their target and her emotionless teammate. 

Althea had lost her daggers while taking down the other three opponents and she had no opportunity to retrieve them so she'd fallen back on her bow despite the closeness of her enemies. 

Althea drew back her bowstring and turned to aim it at their original target, who was swinging her dust battle axe, ready for the arrow. 

Tyrian had turned to attack the emotion blocking hunter, stinger whipping around ready to bury itself in his opponent's chest.

She heard the sound of a weapon breaking through the air just a second before she felt the impact from behind. The pain was immediate, spreading through Althea's side.

She never got the chance to release her arrow. Althea looked down to see the end of a jagged spear protruding from her lower abdomen. Blood seeped through her clothing and trickled down her leg as she dropped her bow.

Her mind went to Tyrian, and she glanced over her shoulder and felt her stomach clench. 

The spear belonged to the emotionless behemoth. He had thrown it before Tyrian leapt to attack him. 

The spear had pierced Tyrian's side before it had hit Althea through the back. Now here they stood, a long, jagged glass spear buried in them both.

Althea knew heavy internal damage had been done and she hardly felt it as she fell to the ground, too weak to stand her ground. 

Her ears hardly register the sound of her enemies fleeting footsteps and the sound of Grimm attacking the city.

What did cut through the haze were Tyrian's soft whimpers of pain and wheezing. 

Althea managed to turn over to face him, it hurt like something otherworldly but she did it. 

"Tyr…" she reached out and took his free hand. The other was pressed against his deep and ragged wound. 

And I'll use you as a focal point

So I don't lose sight of what I want

Tyrian barely felt the wound as he lay there in shock. Althea's gentle hand made him flinch before he looked to her.

"We...failed…" he choked out. "We failed...our Queen…"

"I know...I know…" Althea gasps out. The pain was excruciating and she could hardly think. "We did...the best...we could…"

"Not enough...we weren't good enough…" Tyrian whimpers. His wound hadn't neared any internal organs but the flesh wound was deep and he was losing blood.

Althea managed to crawl to him, closing the distance completely and gently taking Tyrian's cheek in her bloody hand.

"Don't worry about that now...ok?" She says softly, her green eyes never leaving his golden ones, which were starting to fill with tears.

Tyrian wondered if her eyes had always been such a beautiful green…so full of life even as she lay dying beside him.

He could hear his heart thudding in his ears and he let his bloody hand leave his wound to gently rest on Althea's. 

Death didn't seem so bad when you weren't dying all alone. If there was another side, maybe he would see her there…

And I've moved further than I thought I could

But I missed you more than I thought I would

"Where ARE THEY?!" Watt's and Hazel were at the rendezvous point. They needed to leave the city NOW. 

They couldn't get a response over their earpieces, and they knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Watt's first instinct was to just leave the city with Hazel and get back home to Evernight Castle, but he knew there was a high risk of Salem's wrath if they did that. Returning with only half the team and not knowing if the second target had been eliminated?  Unforgivable failure. 

And not that Watts would admit it, but he would feel guilty leaving his teammates behind, not knowing what had become of them.

"Let's go find them." Hazel stood, looking determined. 

It truly didn't take long to accomplish that. Watts and Hazel already knew what section of the city Tyrian and Althea were supposed to be in for their ambush, so it was just a question of looking in every alley and street.

It was Hazel who found them. He was sure they were already dead by the looks of them. Curled together in a large pool of their mingling blood.

"DOCTOR!"

Watts swallowed hard at the sight and he shoved his feelings aside, letting himself slip into the zone that doctors had to get into in emergency situations.  

Althea was unconscious and her pulse was almost non existent. Tyrian's body jolted when Watts checked for his pulse and his eyes fluttered open a little. He groaned deeply as  he felt the doctors hands probe and assess his wound which wasn't nearly as severe as Althea's. Watts worried that one of her kidneys could have been punctured. 

"Hazel, do you think you can carry them both out of here?" Watts asks as he opens his medicine bag and desperately tried to get Althea stable with what he had.

"I'll carry em all the way back home if you need me to." Hazel tried to keep a poker face but eventually he had to look away from the bloody scene.

And I'll use you as a warning sign

That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

It was like floating. Floating on an ocean as the pain rose and fell with the current. Tyrian felt hands on his body, and they were hurting him, but he didn't have an ounce of strength to fight off the enemy. He was already dying so what more could they do to him?

He accepted the pain, it was a good and familiar friend to him.

Soon his head felt fuzzy, like his brain had been removed and replaced with cotton. Tyrian could hardly put a coherent thought together in his head, and that was a hard enough task when he was conscious. 

He felt numb and weak but safe. He was somewhere familiar and warm. 

When his eyes finally open his vision is blurry. Well, blurrier than it normally is. The only light was from the moon shining in through the window above his bed. 

This isn't his room, he knows that immediately; there weren't any windows in his room. 

It took Tyrian a long while to get his bearings at all. 

He now could tell he was in Watts lab, in the little recovery room that sat just off where the doctor did experiments and surgeries. Tyrian had woken up in this bed plenty of times in the past, considering how often he could seriously hurt himself sometimes.

IV needles stuck out of his arms, feeding blood and fluids into his veins. Tyrian hissed softly. He could handle pain, loved it sometimes but needles always made his skin crawl. He wanted to yank them out but his limbs felt too heavy and his fingers wouldn't cooperate. 

He huffs as he lets his head fall back against the pillow.

His mind was still foggy and he couldn't quite remember how he had ended up here…

The mission...his target...He remembered fighting, killing, the blood and screaming…what else? 

The alley.

The ambush.

The spear.

Althea…

Tyrian suddenly felt very sobered as he forced himself into a sitting position. His side protested and he groaned, feeling the fresh bandages wrapped around his lower midsection. 

His hair was unbraided, falling in oak brown waves over his shoulders and along his face.

 His head swam for a moment, which he wouldn't have minded if he didn't have more important things to worry about.

He finally managed to swing his legs over the side of the bed and reached out and gripped the white dividing curtain and tore it aside.

Tyrian released a breath he hadn't realized he'd even been holding.

There, in the other hospital bed, Althea was hooked up to even more IVs and machines than Tyrian. She wore the same bandages across her middle and her breathing was ragged, a tube across her nose forced oxygen into her lungs.

Tyrian let his body relax as he sat on the edge of his bed and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

He wasn't sure how he'd gotten back or how Watt's had managed to save them both. Even if Tyrian's wound hadn't been as bad, he knew he'd lost a lot of blood. But honestly Tyrian didn't care. They were both alive and nothing else mattered.

However as Tyrian sat there, watching Althea's chest rise and fall, he began to realize that they had failed the mission given by their Goddess. His heart began to pound as he wondered what punishment they may face. Merely disappointing her was bad enough.

He realized that he was more worried about Althea - her condition and her possible punishment- more than anything.  But why? Why was Tyrain so worried anyway? Why had he been so frantic to know if she was alive?

Why was watching her bleed to death beside him one of the most heart wrenching things he'd witnessed?

Was this love? Actual love he was feeling? No of course not, Tyrian knew what love felt like. He loved his Goddess. Loved causing chaos and killing.

So why did this feel so much different? So strong, that his chest ached?

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

He swallowed the lump in his throat and he realized tears had begun to spill down his cheeks. He wipes them away with the back of his hand and chokes softly. No this couldn't be right…

But he looks back at her, looking so weak and vulnerable. 

He cautiously slipped out of bed, his tail peeking out under the hem of the stiff hospital gown he'd been dressed in and he managed to crawl into Althea's bed, gently, not wanting to wake her. 

As Tyrian settled down close to her all he could picture was her dying next to him. How calm she had been, even calming him. 

He gently touched his bandage and mused at how they'd have complementary scars.

Althea whimpered in her sleep and Tyrian slipped his arms around her as tight as he dared and let her head lay on his chest. Althea murmured softly and Tyrian heard his name on her lips.

"I'm here…" he whispered against her ear. "I'm right here."

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

[forlovedogs11]

Dogs are notorious for their willingness to eat anything and everything.

Whether it’s a pie on the countertop, a spilled drink or even a dirty sock, your dog will, at the very least, consider ingesting it.

Your dog’s body is pretty good at digesting even the strangest of substances, but there’s some things that you’ll need to watch out for.

Everybody knows about the dangers of a dog eating chocolate, but what else is there? One of the most common items that your dog might eat are chicken bones.

Are Chicken Bones Safe For Dogs To Eat?

If you drop a chicken bone on the floor and your dog swipes it, you might not think twice about it. After all, they sell bones at pet stores specifically for dogs to chew on. However, raw bones, which are sold at the store, are far different than cooked bones.

Because cooked chicken bones are dry, they will splinter. This can wreak havoc in both the chewing stage and the digestive stage.

While chewing on dry bones, the splinters can cut the dog’s gums and mouth tissue, which can be very painful. If they end up swallowing the splinters, their insides and organs can be cut, which, in some cases, can lead to death.

All of this applies to any kind of cooked bone, regardless of whether or not it’s chicken. Other than dry bones, any kind of human food can cause rapid weight-gain in animals, among other nasty effects. There are almost no cases where a dog should be eating human food over dog food, except for hiding a pill in peanut butter, which is a fairly small serving size.

With all of that, it’s safe to say that if you’re dog ate chicken bones, it needs immediate attention. Even if they don’t always result in a damaged dog, chicken bones should still be avoided. Stick to store-bought dog treats, as they’re specially designed for your dog to enjoy and digest properly.

What Do You Do Once Your Dog Has Eaten Chicken Bones?

Once your dog has eaten the bone, there’s not much else you can do, other than hope for the best.

The American Kennel Club recommends calling your veterinarian and explaining the situation while you wait. In some cases, veterinarians have recommended giving your dog white bread along with the bones, so the bread can help cushion the impact of the splintered bones.

In the 72 hours following your dog’s consumption of the bones, you’ll want to keep an eye out for certain signs. These include vomiting, constipation and lethargy, among others. If you see these, they’re a sign that the dog is struggling with internal bleeding or blockages, and are reasons to call your vet immediately.

Once your dog makes a bowel movement and you’re able to see the bones in the movement, your dog should be fine, but it’s always a good idea to make a visit to your vet, just to make sure.

If the bones don’t come out in 72 hours, then you’ll definitely want to make a visit, because the bones might be stuck somewhere in your dog’s digestive system.

If you catch the dog while he or she is chewing on the bones, before they swallow, you’ll want to go about removing the bones wisely. Dogs can get aggressive when it comes to food, so reaching down for the bones might not be the best maneuver, especially if the dog is untrained. It’s best to try to lure your dog away from the bones, even if this means scaring the dog with a loud noise or using other, safer foods as bait.

How Do You Make Sure Your Dog Doesn’t Eat Chicken Bones?

Unfortunately, there’s no sure-fire way to keep your dog from finding the occasional item that isn’t good for them. All you can really do is keep an eye out for any falling foods. It’s also important to remind your children not to feed the dog food from the table, even though they see it done in the movies and on television.

You’ll also want to make sure that all of the trash cans have lids or are tall enough that the dog can’t get inside. If you have short trash cans, you can always sit them on a stool or cardboard box until your dog is properly trained to avoid the trash can as a source of food.

In fact, much of this comes down to training. A dog that’s well-trained won’t go digging in places it shouldn’t be, and even if your dog ate chicken bones, it will drop them at your command before it can swallow. This is why training is so important, outside of simple commands like “sit” and “stay.” Training teaches your dog to respect you and your space.

One of the most helpful commands in regard to food is the “leave it” command. You can train your dog to obey this command by using a tennis ball or any toy. Teaching your dog to drop whatever it has in its mouth can come in hand outside of the kitchen. When dogs are outside, they’re known to pick up a number of unsavory objects.

If you happen to catch your dog snooping around on kitchen counters, it’s important to dissuade the dog, lead it away to its own area and reward it for complying. Discipline works best in conjunction with a reward system.

What Else Shouldn’t Your Dog Eat?

Even though you should stick to giving your dog food that’s specifically made for its species, you may sometimes feel compelled to give your dog a human treat. If you do, be sure to stay away from these items.

CHOCOLATE

One of the most famous foods that is regarded as poison for your dog is chocolate. It might seem like a cruel joke of nature for something as delicious as chocolate to be considered poison, but it is true, nonetheless.

However, you might not need to panic if your dog eats a small amount of milk chocolate, because milk chocolate actually contains very little chocolate. The same goes for white chocolate.

However, cocoa powder and unsweetened baker’s chocolate are among the most toxic to dogs. If your dog gets into one of these, you’ll need to make for the vet as soon as possible. It could be a medical emergency.

MACADAMIA NUTS

Another food that dogs shouldn’t eat is macadamia nuts. While it may seem strange, these are among the most poisonous foods for dogs.

They can cause vomiting, lethargy, hyperthermia and can even debilitate your dog’s nervous system. Interestingly, scientists aren’t sure what it is about macadamia nuts that is toxic for dogs, as it doesn’t affect humans or cats in nearly the same way.

GARLIC

When combined with your dog’s sharp canine teeth, this next toxic food creates a spooky image. Dogs are known to have bad reactions to garlic. It can cause anemia, pale gums and weakness, among other bad side effects. Is your dog a creature of the night?

While not as severe, these same symptoms can pop up if your dog eats other products in the Allium family, such as onions, leeks or chives. The poisoning from these items is also known to result in a delayed reaction, so if you think your dog ate some garlic, keep your eye on him or her for several days.

CINNAMON

Cinnamon isn’t as bad for your dog as some of the other foods on this list, but it should still be avoided. The oils in cinnamon can irritate a dog and lower its blood sugar. This can result in vomiting, abnormal heart rates and liver disease. On a superficial level, cinnamon can also cause the dog to cough and choke.

GRAPES OR RAISINS

Grapes and raisins might seem perfect for a dog treat. They’re small and soft, perfect for your dog’s mouth. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Like macadamia nuts, grapes and raisins are highly toxic to dogs, but scientists aren’t sure why. Nonetheless, they’re known to cause such severe afflictions as kidney failure. You’ll to watch out especially for grapes, because their bouncy nature almost assures that at least one of them will end up on the floor while you’re snacking.

A Dog Requires A Watchful Eye

Taking care of a dog isn’t always a walk in the park, even though walks in the park are literally part of the job.

Just as you should with small children, dogs need to be watched at all times, because they don’t always know what’s good for them.

This is especially true when it comes to food, which dogs will go after indiscriminately.

It’s your responsibility to makes sure there’s no way your dog can get into a trash can or onto a dinner table and get something as dangerous as a chicken bone.

Of course, accidents do happen.

Hopefully, by reading this blog, you’ll be prepared for any eventuality.

[number06fan]

SOURCE FOUND! Ecoli O103 Outbreak Linked to Ground Beef

As the nation waited on the edge of its seat in the latest Ecoli outbreak, we have been holding our breath and crossing our fingers that a source would be found. Day by day, we have watched the numbers grow to a staggering 109 illnesses as of the time of writing this article. This is the third-largest multistate Ecoli outbreak reported in the last 20 years! First, it was just Kentucky that was a concern, but now 6 states are in the mix. And finally, today, we have a good idea of the mystery source. It is likely that an Ecoli lawsuit or two is going to be in the works soon. Without further ado, here is what you need to know about the Ground Beef Ecoli O103 Outbreak.

What We Know

The numbers are in for the Ground Beef Ecoli O103 Outbreak. According to the latest report from the CDC, there are a confirmed 109 cases of Ecoli O103. Of these 17 have been hospitalized. Unfortunately, there are no reported cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or deaths at this time. Let’s hope the numbers stay that way.

As of the time the CDC begun its investigation, several interviews have been conducted on those that had confirmed illnesses. Based on these preliminary interviews, the CDC believes that ground beef is the culprit for the illnesses. These interviews also identified that “ill people in this outbreak report eating ground beef at home and in restaurants.”

How does the CDC confirm this link? Elementary, my dear. According to their website:

“When a foodborne disease outbreak is detected, public health and regulatory officials work quickly to collect as much information as possible to find out what is causing it, so they can take action to prevent more people from getting sick. During an investigation, health officials collect three types of data: epidemiologic, traceback, and food and environmental testing.

Health officials assess all of these types of data together to try to find the likely source of the outbreak. They take action, such as warning the public, when there is clear and convincing information linking illness to a contaminated food.”

So, knowing the CDC, they have a pretty good idea that they are spot on with the source.

Now, as for the states involved. Here is a bit of a breakdown about that:

StateIll PeopleIndiana1Georgia17Kentucky54Ohio7Tennessee28Virginia2Total109

*Table showing the number of ill people arranged by state of residence.

For those curious about the timing of this whole thing, the CDC stated that the reported illnesses began from March 2, 2019 to March 26, 2019.

What We Are Waiting For

At this time, no common supplier, distributor, or brand of ground beef has been identified. The investigation is ongoing to determine the source of ground beef supplied to grocery stores and restaurant locations where ill people ate.

This means that there are likely to be more updates in the coming days and weeks. Also, there are likely to be more cases linked to the outbreak. It can take weeks sometimes from diagnosis to confirmed link to an outbreak due to the time it takes to make it through all of the steps of the investigative process. This means this outbreak is definitely still ongoing. Caution when preparing and eating ground beef products is highly recommended.

Is there a recall?

Not yet. The CDC and local health agencies have not yet identified what brand, supplier, or even farm the infected beef came from. As they work on their traceback investigations, we should hopefully learn this information in the near future. (For those curious, the purpose of traceback is to find a common point of contamination in the food distribution chain. This is identified by reviewing records collected from restaurants and stores where sick people ate or shopped.)

In the meantime, the CDC has two things to say:

“  [The] CDC is not recommending that consumers avoid eating ground beef or retailers stop serving or selling ground beef.”

And

“Raw ground beef should be handled safely and cooked thoroughly to kill germs that could cause foodborne illness.”

Oh, and don’t forget to seek medical attention. The CDC says to:

Talk to your healthcare provider.

Write down what you ate in the week before you started to get sick.

Report your illness to the health department.

Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.

 Where’s the Beef?

The sad reality is this: it may be in your fridge or freezer at home. Also concerning, is it is likely also still for sale at your local grocery store or your favorite restaurant.

As an FYI, those who are sick bought or ate ground beef from several different grocery stores and restaurants. Those who are sick bought large trays or chubs of ground beef from grocery stores and used the meat to make dishes like spaghetti sauce and sloppy joe.

Eek! What Should I Do?

Fear not. The CDC has your back again. Here is their handy-dandy advice on what to do during an Ecoli ground beef outbreak (and general handling of beef):

“Advice to consumers, retailers, and restaurants:

Handle ground beef safely and cook it thoroughly to prevent foodborne illness.

Consumers should cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160˚F.

Wash hands with soap and water after touching raw ground beef.

Keep raw meat separate from foods that won’t be cooked before eating.

Thoroughly wash countertops, cutting boards, plates, and utensils with hot, soapy water or a bleach solution after they touch raw meat.

Don’t eat raw or undercooked ground beef.

After cooking ground beef, refrigerate within 2 hours and use within 3 to 4 days.

Thaw ground beef in the refrigerator. Cook or refreeze within 2 days.

Talk to your doctor if you have symptoms of an E. coli infection.”

As always, if you are anyone you love is showing the tell-tale signs of an Ecoli infection after eating beef (or any food for that matter), urgent medical attention is highly recommended. Early medical attention could help reduce the risk of a more severe infection and the potential for long-term complications. Besides, you want to get better. This one is a nasty one.

What to Look Out For

The telltale signs of an Ecoli infection include:

Severe stomach cramps

Watery diarrhea (often bloody)

Vomiting

Sometimes a fever, which usually is not very high (less than 101˚Fahrenheit)

The majority of people infected with E. coli will exhibit symptoms of diarrhea and abdominal cramps within 2 to 8 days after ingestion of the bacteria.

But the only way to truly know if you have Ecoli is through a stool test from your doctor. Don’t forget to ask for one! (Also, if you indeed have Ecoli, it is a good idea to let your local health department know.)

What! Long Term Complications?

In this Ground Beef Ecoli O103 Outbreak, there could be. Kidney failure is especially a big concern. About 5-10% of those with STEC E. coli infections can develop Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), which is a type of kidney failure that could have long-term consequences and can even lead to death. It can develop anywhere within 5-10 days after the initial E. coli infection. Children under the age of five are at the highest risk for developing HUS. However, anyone could develop the affliction.

The symptoms of HUS include:

abdominal pain

bloody diarrhea

fever

fatigue

decreased urination

dehydration

pale skin

unexplained bruises and bleeding.

Those who have developed HUS require hospitalization because their kidneys may begin to fail. Most people with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some could suffer permanent damage, require blood transfusions or kidney transplants, or may even die.

The Lange Law Firm –www.MakeFoodSafe.com

Our mission is to help families who have been harmed by contaminated food or water.  When corporations cause Ecoli food poisoning outbreaks or Legionnaires disease outbreaks, we use the law to hold them accountable.  The Lange Law Firm is the only law firm in the nation solely focused on representing families in food poisoning lawsuits and Legionnaires disease lawsuits.

If you were infected with Ecoli after eating ground beef and are interested in making a legal claim for compensation, we have an Ecoli lawyer ready to help you.  Call us for a free no obligation legal consultation at 833.330.3663 or send us an e-mail here.

By: Candess Zona-Mendola, Editor (Non-Lawyer)

The post SOURCE FOUND! Ecoli O103 Outbreak Linked to Ground Beef appeared first on The Lange Law Firm.

[ntrending]

Inside the controversial new surgery to transplant human wombs

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/inside-the-controversial-new-surgery-to-transplant-human-wombs/

Inside the controversial new surgery to transplant human wombs

On September 4, 2014, in Gothenburg, Sweden, his 36-year-old expectant mother lay on an operating table, suffering from preeclampsia—a pregnancy complication associated with high blood pressure. The baby’s heartbeat showed signs of stress. Normally the woman’s doctors might have taken a wait-and-see approach, treating her with medication and hoping to give the nearly 32-week-old fetus time to grow to full term of about 40 weeks.

But this was no normal gestation. This was the world’s first human nurtured inside a transplanted uterus. He was the product of more than a decade of research. For years, no one had been sure he could exist in that womb—let alone be born. This was not a wait-and-see situation.

As gynecologist and surgeon Liza Johannesson prepped to deliver the child via cesarean section, she was nervous. Not for the baby—she was used to delivering those—but for the uterus. It was 62 years old. A family friend of the patient, who had been born without her own womb, had donated it. The last time it had sustained a life was nearly three decades earlier. “We didn’t know what to expect,” Johannesson says. “We didn’t know if we were going to see [scar tissue] from the transplant surgery or how the new vessels would look, and how they would be positioned.” But as she cut into the woman’s abdomen, her scalpel revealed a uterus that, she says, “looked like it was 20. It reacted the same way it would if it were super young and super healthy. You couldn’t tell it was an old uterus.”

The baby and the mother too both turned out healthy. It would be a month before the journal article announcing the birth would appear, allowing the ­Swedish-​led medical team to tell the world: Uterus transplants are possible. And they can bear life.

That team has since delivered seven more babies via ­donated wombs, and this past November, with ­Johannesson’s help, Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas achieved the first such birth in the U.S. In February, a second. A leading organ-transplant center, Baylor has ­reported that two more women are trying to conceive as part of a large-scale clinical trial involving medical ­experts in nearly a dozen specialties. Under the guidance of transplant surgeon Giuliano Testa, Baylor hopes to build on Sweden’s research-based work to develop a proof-of-­concept system that could be adapted around the world.

Hundreds of women’s fertility advocates have applauded Baylor’s work, and other transplant centers have contacted it to learn its methods. The need seems great.

Consider that kidneys, the nation’s most commonly transplanted body part, account for around 19,000 of the procedures each year. Then compare that to what may be as many as 2 million women in the U.S. with what ­doctors call “absolute uterine factor infertility.” Some have ­undergone hysterectomies due to cancer, fibroids, excessive bleeding, or uterine prolapse. Some are among the approximately 1 in 5,000 girls born each year without a uterus, a medical condition known as Mayer-­Rokitansky- Küster-Hauser syndrome. And there is another category that hasn’t yet been tabulated—but almost certainly will be in the future: the hundreds of thousands of women who represent a portion of America’s 1.4 million transgender people. They too might one day be able to choose to bear children thanks to this new surgery.

Of course, there are caveats that need to be negotiated before the uterine transplant can become an everyday surgery. First, there are ethical concerns. Critics question the necessity of the procedure, given that women have other paths to motherhood, such as surrogacy and adoption. Some wonder if surgeons are undertaking the challenge simply because they can. And then there are the risks. The donor must undergo a medically unnecessary surgery to remove her womb. The recipient must undergo three: one to insert the uterus, another to deliver the baby via C-section, and a third to remove the organ after birth. (Doctors do not want patients to spend a lifetime taking immunosuppressive drugs, which come with risks, to prevent rejection of a part not needed for survival.) Finally, there are the costs, which Testa estimates at around $250,000, putting the operations beyond the reach of any but the most affluent, and perhaps the most desperate.

Undeniably, the research that went into the procedure is groundbreaking. And Testa thinks Baylor’s clinical trial—monitored and supervised by the hospital’s internal review board and following the rules of the United ­Network of ­Organ Sharing, a nonprofit that manages the nation’s organ transplant system—will one day ­allow thousands of women to carry children. “It makes no sense to ­innovate if it stays for only one case,” says Testa. “It ­becomes a stunt. We’re talking about helping people at large. I hope this is the spark that turns into a furnace.”

In 1931, a German surgeon performed the first-known uterine transplant, on a Danish ­transsexual named Lili Elbe. She died soon afterward, probably due to tissue rejection. Decades later, in 2000, a Saudi Arabian woman who had lost her uterus during childbirth wanted another baby and came up with the transplant idea on her own. Her doctors agreed to attempt the procedure; the implanted womb lasted three months before its tissue began to die and it had to be removed. The woman survived. “They were criticized,” says Johannesson, because of a lack of clinical and ethical transparency and the procedure’s failure.

But other, more-rigorous attempts were underway at that time, none more advanced than that of Swedish transplant surgeon Mats Brännström, who had faced a similar patient request in 1998. Rather than plow ahead in the dark, he created a team at the University of Gothenburg and attempted to puzzle out just how to do the surgery in a way that wouldn’t fail. Johannesson joined his team in 2008 during her gynecology residency, having decided to pursue her doctorate in this area.

The first goal of the study was to perfect the surgery in animals. The team had started with mice and rats, removing and attaching uteruses under a microscope. Later, ­Johannesson headed up the final phase of research: ­working on nonhuman primates, specifically ­baboons, whose abdomen reflects the anatomy she would face in people. For the next several years, she traveled to ­Nairobi, Kenya, eventually performing uterine transplants on 66 such human-resembling primates.

The goal in all these animal surgeries was twofold. Connect the uterus to the body and secure its blood flow. To attach this triangle of tissue, ­Johannesson learned to stitch it to the vagina and a group of ligaments. The uterus, which in humans weighs 2 ounces and is about the size and shape of an upside-down pear, has multiple blood supplies (two arteries and two veins) that keep it, and a fetus, alive with oxygen and nutrients. During a pregnancy, blood volume increases by up to 50 percent, enlarging these passages. (Both the Swedish and Baylor teams require that a donor has already borne a child, as proof that the organ works.)

During the animal trials, Johannesson monitored each patient for rejection. Not all transplanted organs react the same way in a host body. There are a slew of soldiers in our immune system whose job it is to detect foreign objects and eliminate them. Watching how rejection works on these foreign body parts helped Johannesson and her team stave it off with the right cocktail of immunosuppressive drugs.

By late 2011, they were confident they could succeed in humans. But it would take the Swedes four months to convince a national medical ethics board that the surgery could be morally justified. The group wrestled with dozens of questions: How do you explain the risks and benefits? Is it right to offer hope when results aren’t guaranteed? Why perform such a procedure when so many children need adopting? Why perform it when surrogacy is an option? That option, Johannesson points out, is similarly morally fraught, since it requires women to pass the risk of pregnancy to another person. In the U.S., it’s often handled through a paid business deal, but in some states and countries, including Sweden and much of Europe, surrogacy is illegal.

“It’s a necessary thing to do,” Johannesson says of the ethics discussions. “These are people’s lives we have in our hands. We need to be sure we’re [making] good ­decisions. We have to question ourselves.”

By spring 2012, the research group had received permission to move forward. Two years later, the first patient gave birth to a boy. A year after that, ­Johannesson joined Testa in Dallas as he prepared a trial that, if successful, would allow them and others to scale up the procedure to help thousands of women.

To ensure the success of their trial, and their patients’ health, the Baylor team requires subjects to meet strict criteria. Recipients must be extremely healthy and no older than 35, to reduce the chance of pregnancy complications. Both the donor and the intended mom must undergo psychological evaluations to determine their reasons for participating and to confirm that they can provide informed consent.

When it comes time for surgery, the donor and recipient are prepped in adjacent operating rooms. First, a gynecological oncologist removes the donor’s uterus through her abdomen. Normally, in a hysterectomy, the surgeon begins by cutting the blood supply to the organ. But because in this case he must maintain that supply to keep oxygen and nutrients flowing to the organ, he does this last. “This means there is much higher risk of accidentally nicking an artery and having to deal with blood loss,” says team surgeon E. Colin Koon, who is an expert in radical hysterectomies.

Koon must remove more tissue than he normally would; he takes more of the blood vessels than in a typical hysterectomy. “It’s a very big dissection,” he says. Also the head of Baylor’s robotic surgery, Koon is exploring the possibility of performing this procedure less invasively, extracting the organ through the vagina rather than the abdomen. This would be less traumatic for the donor, who must currently stay in the hospital for up to six days after the surgery so staff can monitor her recovery.

Minutes after removal, a team member takes the uterus into the other operating room. There, the surgical plan follows a 3D map of the inside of the recipient’s abdomen. This has been created by the team’s radiologist and imaging specialist, using a combination of ultrasound, MRI, and CT angiography. A dye added to the blood “lights up” the arteries and veins, some no more than a millimeter in diameter, says team radiologist Greg de Prisco. Because blood vessels aren’t always in the same exact location in every body, the dye lets doctors pinpoint their target. “The surgeon wants to know before they go in: ‘Where should I cut?’” says de Prisco.

Testa and Johannesson then get to work. They insert the uterus and attach it to the blood supply, suturing the organ’s arteries to an aortic vessel that runs down into the leg. After that, they attach the vagina and anchoring ­ligaments, and the transplant is complete.

Three to six months later, provided the patient has ­experienced consistent menstruation, IVF doctors ­implant an embryo, the result of eggs harvested earlier from the mother and sperm from her partner. She will be able to feel the baby move, but, because surgeons do not connect the mother’s nerves to the baby’s cocoon (it is a complicated and medically unnecessary step), she does not experience labor pains. A lack of working nerves also makes doctors unsure if the uterus will contract normally, so they deliver the child via C-section. Vaginal birth might be possible in the future, Johannesson says, though it is not a part of the current trial.

It’s early February, and Kristin Wallis is on the phone with a woman interested in receiving a uterus. Wallis is the nurse coordinator for Baylor’s clinical trial team. She vets prospective patients and women wanting to donate. Since Baylor announced its trial in 2016, more than 500 women have emailed or called Wallis. She is an advocate for each patient in the trial, following them through every stage of surgery, sometimes sleeping in the hospital with them, and answering their calls day and night.

Baylor has not yet announced a second trial, and its ­current one has already selected all of its recipients. But Wallis still listens to everyone’s tale in case they could be candidates for future studies, and also because she feels each woman deserves to be heard. Today’s caller tells ­Wallis she lost her uterus to fibroids when she was young. Unfortunately, Wallis quickly knows the woman is ineligible. She’s too old and has a heart condition. Still, Wallis spends 45 minutes sympathizing with her, while also telling her candidly that she cannot have a transplant.

“If I cut them off after the first sentence, they don’t get to tell their story,” says Wallis, after she hangs up the phone. “I do want to hear them, but it does take a long time.”

Increasingly, callers might have elsewhere to turn. ­According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, doctors have either started or plan to start as many as 12 additional uterine-transplant trials around the world. This past March, in an attempt to spread its knowledge, Baylor hosted dozens of surgeons from across the country (from places such as Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Mayo Clinic) eager to learn about setting up their own programs.

That widespread adoption offers hope to the ­transgender community, which has been watching the progress of uterine transplants. Katelyn Burns, a member of that ­community and a freelance journalist who covers its issues for media outlets such as The Washington Post and Vice, says circles of trans women regularly discuss one day giving birth. Many, says Burns, would opt for the surgery if it were made available. “There’s a quiet confidence” that they will gain access to this, says Burns, adding, “If I were young enough, and if I could afford it, I would probably try for it.”

Right now, uterine transplants are experimental. That means risks abound for everyone involved. Even if ­patients who receive the organs remain healthy, there’s always a chance they could undergo a painful ­operation only to have it fail. But even recipients whose new wombs have been unsuccessful have expressed to Testa and ­Johannesson they were glad to have gone through the process. They contributed to furthering the science. Their uterus’s failure, though it did not give them children, still moved the world that much closer to fulfilling for their fellow women what once had been an impossible dream.

Johannesson doesn’t mind when people criticize (it’s a part of the process) and ask if it’s really worth it for anyone to undergo experimental surgery to bear a child. After all, ­surgeons have been successfully grafting penis replacements on men since 2014. Is a uterus really less essential? Zachary Rubeo, the team’s maternal fetal medicine specialist who monitors the transplant pregnancies, notes that since medical science has tackled many other aspects of infertility—from hormone injections and freezing eggs to artificial insemination and IVF—stopping at women who don’t have a functioning body part is discriminatory. “To look them in the face and say, ‘We won’t help you,’ that’s sort of unfair,” he says. Medical science has made pregnancy unnatural for decades. But there’s nothing more natural than giving a woman the chance to give birth to her own child.

Erin Biba is a freelance journalist based in New York City. She writes about science for publications such as the BBC and Scientific American.

This article was originally published in the Summer 2018 Life/Death issue of Popular Science.

Written By Erin Biba