A first-ever womb transplant has been carried out in the UK, which has turned out to be a "massive success".

The recipient was a 34-year-old woman, and the donor her 40-year-old sister, both of whom wish to remain anonymous.

An operation lasting nine hours and 20 minutes at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford took place back in February this year.

Speaking to the PA News Agency leading surgeon Professor Richard Smith said the experience had been “quite remarkable”, adding that the operation had been a “massive success”.

He added: “It was incredible. I think it was probably the most stressful week in my surgical career but also unbelievably positive.

Glasgow Times: One of the leading surgeons, Professor Richard Smith, called the experience 'quite remarkable'One of the leading surgeons, Professor Richard Smith, called the experience 'quite remarkable' (Image: Womb Transplant UK/PA Wire)

“The donor and recipient are over the moon, just over the moon.

“I’m just really happy that we’ve got a donor who is completely back to normal after her big op and the recipient is, after her big op, doing really well on her immunosuppressive therapy and looking forward to hopefully having a baby.”

'A very proud moment'

The woman who received the womb plans to have IVF this autumn using embryos that she and her husband have in storage.

Another leading surgeon in the operation, Isabel Quiroga, said she was “thrilled” with how the operation went.

She commented: “It was a very proud moment but still quite reserved – the first two weeks after the operation are nerve-racking.

“Now, I feel extremely proud of what we’ve achieved and desperately happy for her.”

The woman receiving the womb was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a rare condition that affects around one in every 5,000 women.

Glasgow Times: The surgical team behind the UK's first womb transplantThe surgical team behind the UK's first womb transplant (Image: Womb Transplant UK)

In MRKH, women have an underdeveloped vagina and underdeveloped or missing womb. The first sign of the condition is when a teenage girl does not have periods.

However, their ovaries are intact and still function to produce eggs and female hormones, making conceiving via fertility treatment a possibility.

She will need to take immunosuppressant drugs throughout any future pregnancy to prevent her body rejecting the donor organ.

The transplant is expected to last for a maximum of five years before the womb is removed.