Kind stranger donates uterus to woman who was told she couldn’t have kids. Now, she’s a mom of two.

Chelsea Jovanovich was told she could never have kids and it was a heartbreaking situation. Jovanovich was just 15 when she learned she couldn’t have a baby because of a rare condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) Syndrome where her uterus never fully developed. At the time she didn't realize how much that would affect her but as she grew older, she was crushed after realizing what it actually meant. “It got really hard going to my friends' baby showers, seeing my friends get married and have families of their own,” she told TODAY. “I wanted to be a mom ever since I was little. So, it was devastating.”

Things took a turn when she learned of a rare procedure that might help her have a baby. Her mother heard about it and Jovanovich applied for a uterus transplant from Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. "My mom saw a story about having uterus transplants. And she said, 'You know, there is hope. You know, you should look into this. You might be able to have a baby'," Jovanovich remembered. “I decided to take a chance. And here I am today, which is still a dream.”

In 2020 she went through the 12-hour procedure with Dr. Kathleen O’Neill, the lead investigator for the uterus transplant program. “These women have ovaries, they have eggs, they just don’t have the uterus to gestate the pregnancy,” O’Neill explained in 2021. “Once we’re able to give them that uterus, the vast majority get pregnant and have babies,” she added.

Uteri can be used by both living and deceased donors. In fact, in Jovanovich's case she had the pleasure of meeting her donor, Cheryl Urban who she remains friends with. “I was just mind blown they could do this,” Urban said in 2021. “I had two great pregnancies. I’ve enjoyed pregnancy. I enjoyed the feeling of my own kids. So, I just wanted to be able to give that to somebody else. And I’m so glad I did.”  After a person delivers a second baby, medical experts remove the uterus.

The procedure is still relatively new and according to Dr. O’Neill, only about 70 have been performed worldwide. After having her rare uterus transplant in 2021 Jovanovich is now celebrating the birth of her second baby. “The first time I got pregnant, it was unreal,” Jovanovich admitted. “It was really hard for me to accept that I was pregnant, so I didn’t savor it as much. So, the second pregnancy I … wasn’t as worried. So, I was able to enjoy it a little bit more. Yeah, it was nice being pregnant again,” she added.