Developing an International Registry for Uterus Transplantation (IRUTx): Promises and Challenges

Uterus Transplantation (UTx) is an experimental vascular composite allograft designed to provide women with absolute uterine factor infertility with the opportunity to gestate and give birth to their future offspring. The number of UTx procedures performed worldwide now stands at ≥70 and as the number of cases performed increases so too does the volume of potential data that may be gathered to inform the development, practice and regulation of UTx. Given the value of this data, and the challenges associated with keeping track of cases and outcomes where data remains unpublished and/or scattered, scientists and academics conducting research into UTx have increasingly called for the swift creation, implementation and management of an international registry for Uterus Transplantation (IRUTx). This article explores and provides practical guidance regarding the potential benefits the IRUTx may provide to stakeholders, as well as the legal and ethical challenges that its creation may pose in terms of dataset design, consent, privacy, researcher compliance and governance.