When Grace Davidson first held her daughter in her arms, she could hardly believe she was real
After a decade of waiting, hoping, and pushing the boundaries of modern medicine, Grace and her husband Angus welcomed their miracle baby, Amy Isabel — the first child in the UK born following a living donor womb transplant.
For Grace, who was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome — a rare condition meaning she had no functioning womb — motherhood once felt heartbreakingly out of reach. But thanks to the love of her sister, Amy Purdie, a 42-year-old former teacher and mother of two, who selflessly donated her womb, and a team of pioneering doctors.
Baby Amy Isabel was delivered safely by planned Caesarean section on February 27th at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London, arriving several weeks early but full of life and strength. The couple named their daughter after Grace’s sister and Isabel Quiroga, one of the lead surgeons involved in the transplant and delivery.
Speaking to The Independent, Grace shared the overwhelming emotion of the moment: “It was just hard to believe she was real. We have been given the greatest gift we could ever have asked for.”
Related: Wow–first American baby born from a uterus transplant from a deceased donor
A journey fueled by love and hope
The path to parenthood wasn’t an easy one. Before the transplant, Grace and Angus created seven embryos through fertility treatment, uncertain if they would ever get the chance to use them. In February 2023, Grace underwent groundbreaking surgery to receive her sister’s womb.
After months of recovery, one embryo was transferred via IVF — and against the odds, new life began to grow.
Recalling the moment they found out they were expecting, Angus told The Independent: “It had been such a long wait, it’s kind of odd getting your head around that this is the moment where you are going to meet your daughter.”
The gift of family
When Amy finally arrived, the room was full — not just of doctors and nurses, but of love.
“There were lots of tears,” Grace said to The Independent. “It was a full theatre with all the people who had helped us on the journey. But in that moment, it wasn’t just about medicine — it was about family, and love, and a baby who was finally here.”
Her words capture something universal: that while science made Amy’s birth possible, it was love that made it happen.
Healing old wounds
For Grace, motherhood is also a personal triumph over years of private heartbreak. Diagnosed with MRKH at 19, she struggled silently with the emotional weight of infertility.
“I used to get triggered by ordinary things, like seeing a mum pushing a pram,” she recalled to The Independent. “It would just catch you by surprise.”
Today, holding Amy in her arms, Grace says those painful days feel like a different lifetime.
“Even just getting past the first two weeks [of the transplant] was amazing,” she said. “What helped us through the tough times was thinking — this is all going to be worth it.”
A bright future ahead
Though Amy needed some extra care in her first weeks — she weighed 4.5 pounds at birth, needed light therapy for jaundice, and was initially very sleepy — today she’s thriving.
“She’s a strong feeder now and wakes herself up when she wants a feed, which is nice,” Grace said, smiling.
As for the future? Grace and Angus are already dreaming of growing their family further. “We definitely want to have another child,” Grace shared.
To other women facing similar journeys, Grace offers a message of hope: “There’s hope. There are options. And sometimes, love can truly make the impossible possible.”
The procedure in the U.S.: Another Step Forward
Similar miracles are happening elsewhere too. In May 2023, the University of Alabama at Birmingham celebrated a historic moment when Mallory, a woman also born with MRKH syndrome, gave birth after a successful uterus transplant — the first outside a clinical trial in the U.S. According to UAB News, Mallory’s story marks a major step toward making uterus transplants more accessible. As she put it, her newborn son “was worth every step of the journey.”
Related: A woman who had 18 miscarriages is raising her miracle baby