On February, Lindsey McFarland underwent a uterus transplant, but several days after, the organ had to be removed due to a common yeast infection. She and her husband broke their silence over the failed surgery by saying that it was heartbreaking and emotional to go through losing the uterus. Despite of it all, Lindsey was thankful to the Cleveland Clinic staff.

"I am so thankful to this amazing team of doctors and all the nurses and staff who have worked around the clock to ensure my safety," Lindsey said, as reported by NBC News. Hours after appearing in the conference about undergoing the first uterus transplant in the country, Lindsey noticed some bleeding in her incision. She was taken to surgery right after to manage the tear, but the doctors find a common yeast infection that hindered blood flow to the uterus which could result in life-threatening complications.

Lindsey also revealed in the exclusive interview that they will take a few years to rest before proceeding with the transplant again. She also plans to use the fertilized eggs she acquired during IVF before the transplant. They are going to have Lindsey's mother as surrogate, Daily Mail shares. Prior to the clinical trial, the McFarlands have three adopted boys.

"We're going to take a few years to focus on our boys and me build up strength and get back to normal," Lindsey explained. "Then we'll start the process. So we're excited."

The Cleveland Clinic announced that they will be holding off future planned transplants until they know how the infection got in the way of Lindsey's transplant. They will continue to study her case in order to come up with steps to prevent it from happening again.

"We would not proceed with another transplant until we have come up with a clear understanding of how this infection occurred and a clear solution to avoid it from happening [again]," said Cleveland Clinic Transplant Center chairman Dr.Tammaso Falcone via Today.

Topics Transplant