Jessica Alves says she'd be first in line for trans womb when pioneering op ... trends now
Jessica Alves wants to be 'first in the queue' for a pioneering trans womb operation, when science catches up to her dream of becoming a mother.
The trans star, who gave up on getting the operation in 2021 , told MailOnline she was still dreaming of one day having a belly bump.
Prominent experts in the field anticipate the pioneering transplants will be ready for trans women — who were born male — within the next few years.
And Jessica, an ex-Celebrity Big Brother housemate, claimed she would absolutely consider going under the knife.
The presenter, 39, said: 'It is a dream to be mother and to have a bump in my belly and knowing I can have that extension of myself.'
Jessica Alves, 39, told MailOnline she would still consider having a womb transplant to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother, she is pictured here at The Cher Show at the New Wimbledon Theatre in Southwest London on January 31
This graphic shows the potential way a person born a biological man could have a womb surgically inserted into the body, paving the way for first ever male pregnancy
Currently, womb transplants are restricted to infertile biological women wanting to become mothers and are only available in trials.
Only tiny modifications would be needed to make it a reality for men too, according to world-renowned voices in the transplantation field.
Jessica told this website she was frustrated by the inability to have a child naturally. 'I've had all the surgeries I can to be as close as possible to a biological woman,' she said.
'But I can't have children, which is very frustrating.'
Jessica, who has spent over £800,000 on 70-plus surgeries to transform her appearance, said she often mentally felt like a pregnant woman due to the hormones she took.
'My brain is totally female,' she said.
'Sometimes I feel constantly like a pregnant woman because of the high level of hormones.'
Jessica, who has made over £1million from posting racy snaps on the subscription site OnlyFans, originally considered getting a womb transplant back in 2021.
This was shortly after her vaginoplasty in February that same year, a surgery that gave her a functioning vagina using tissue partly taken from her penis.
As she had sperm frozen shortly before having her testes removed as part of the surgery, if she were to get a womb transplant, she could theoretically carry her own biological child via IVF.
This could see a donor egg being fertilised with Jessica's frozen sperm — and then implanted into the donated womb.
But the Brazilian British TV personality said that, after seeking advice from multiple doctors both in the UK and Denmark, she was scared off by the risks associated with the surgery.
The operation has never successfully been carried out in a transwoman before.
Only one attempt has been made, back in 1931.
Danish artist Lili Elbe, who was born male, had the surgery in Germany with the hope of being able to have children with her fiancé.
However, she died from a cardiac arrest brought on by a post-surgery infection three months after the operation without having conceived a child.
'The risks were very scary and I couldn't take that chance,' Jessica said.
Like with any organ transplant, there is an inherent risk of rejection, where the body's immune system attacks it as a foreign object.
Jessica said she was also warned about the risk of a potentially deadly infection from the extensive surgery, which can take up to 11 hours.
She said these risks were part of reason she stopped pursuing the surgery.
Jessica who originally pursued a womb transplant in 2021 was put off by the risks associated with surgery but said if the science improved she'd be 'first in the queue'. The Brazilian British TV personality was pictured here in London on January 27
The other reason she said was her desire for a vaginal birth. Babies which develop in a transplanted are born via C-section currently.
Jessica said in her case she was told her vagina would be unable to dilate enough for the baby to be born vaginally.
However, she claimed if the science were to come far enough to give her dream, she would jump at the chance.
'If anything changes in the future, I would be the first in the queue,' she said.
However, like other women her age, Jessica was worried about being an older mum.
'I may look younger because I really take care of my appearance and I've had a lot of surgery in order to keep my looks, but I turn 40 in July,' she said.
However, Jessica rejected the idea that such a procedure would be part of gender-affirming care, something put forward by the latest paper on the subject.
'My transition is completed, I don't need gender affirmation,' she said. 'I'm a woman and it's on my birth certificate.'
Transgender people born in Brazil can change the gender recorded on their birth certificate if they have undergone sex reassignment surgery.
In comes as experts behind North America's first womb transplant from a deceased donor, which resulted in the birth of a child, said similar surgery for trans women is only a few years away.
The team, from the prestigious Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, wrote about the possibility of performing the surgery on a biological man in Fertility and Sterility.
Campaigners argue transgender women should have the same right to carry a child as a woman born female.
Wombs could come from deceased women and donors who have decided to have their own reproductive organs removed — which can happen when women decide to become men.
But not everyone agrees. Some critics have labeled the prospect as a 'selfish exercise' by transwomen that is 'insulting' to motherhood.
Around 100 womb transplants have been carried out globally since 2014, when the procedure was first successfully performed by experts in Sweden.
Dozens of women have also successfully gone on to get pregnant thanks to the procedure in combination with IVF.
It is not routinely available in Britain yet — but experts hope they will be in time.
Dr Rebecca Flyck, lead author of the new article, said not opening the surgery up to transwomen would be a form of discrimination.
'As we increasingly recognise a history of inequality and discrimination for transgender women, we must question whether it is acceptable that transgender women are denied access to clinical trials based on their gender identity and trans status,' she said.
Jessica has had more than 70 surgical procedures to alter her appearance over the years costing over £800,000. In December she revealed that her bum implants became 'displaced' after she got up too soon while she was still recovering from surgery in Turkey
Jessica recently recently revealed that she has managed to make over a million pounds through her provocative photos on the racy subscription website Onlyfans
She added that giving transwomen wombs would help address the mental anguish they suffered by not being able to fully embrace their gender identity.
'Further, as studies accumulate revealing high levels of depression and suicidality in trans women and demonstrate the emotional impact of reduced procreative ability in this population, we must consider the potential benefits of bringing uterus transplantation to transwomen,' she said.
Dr Flyck added it was a matter of when the surgery was conducted, not if.
'The first uterus transplant in a transgender female in the 21st century is anticipated to take place within the next few years, if not sooner,' she said.
The article by Dr Flyck and colleagues doesn't provide a detailed guide into how this potential surgery would be conducted.
But it is likely the first step would be a transwoman undergoing a vaginoplasty, so that their body is more similar to
