人物:通过子宫移植创造出来的小生命(2)（在线收听）

When Jennifer began dating Drew in 2007,

2007年，詹妮弗开始跟德鲁约会，

while she was a student at Philadelphia's Drexel University, she told him about her MRKH at the outset.

当时她还是费城德雷塞尔大学的学生，她一开始就告诉了德鲁她患有MRKH。

"She was open about it from the beginning," says Drew, who was attending nearby Temple University.

德鲁说，“她一开始就毫无隐瞒”，德鲁在附近的天普大学上学。

As they fell in love, they talked about how much they both wanted a family.

他们相爱的时候，互相都表明非常想要拥有一个家庭。

"We both knew we'd be parent someday; we just didn't know how," says Drew.

“我们都知道终有一天我们会为人父母；只是不知道会以何种方式。”德鲁说。

They married in 2014 and not long after began IVF procedures

2014年他们结婚了，不久便开始了试管授精步骤，

(some women with MRKH have functioning ovaries that produce eggs) in the hopes of finding a surrogate.

（有些患有MRKH的女性的卵巢可以正常产生卵子），希望能找到代孕。

All the while, says Drew, who's 32,

32岁的德鲁说，有段时间

they were fielding "awkward, painful" questions from well-intentioned friends and family about when they were planning to have kids.

他们开始面临心怀好意的亲友们“尴尬、痛苦”的问题，问他们何时准备要小孩。

"How do you even talk about it?" he adds. "So you just lie and suffer in silence."

“你该怎么说呢？”他说，“你只能一直撒谎，然后独自难受。”

By December 2017 Jennifer had spent years learning everything she could about MRKH

到2017年12月，詹妮弗已经用了很多年了解她能知道的所有关于MRKH的信息，

and joining various support groups for women with the disorder.

并且加入了几个患有这种疾病的女性互助群体。

It was through one such group on Facebook that she learned that Baylor University Medical Center,

通过脸书上的一个群体，她了解到贝勒大学医学中心

the Cleveland Clinic and Penn Medicine hospital were studying the possibility of uterus transplants—

克利夫兰诊所和Penn Medicine医院在研究子宫移植的可能性——

and that Penn Medicine was looking for candidates.

而且Penn Medicine在寻找申请者。

"I think I should apply," she told Drew.

她跟德鲁说“我觉得我应该申请。”

Jennifer was selected from among 1,500 applicants, and within days she began meeting with doctors at Penn Medicine.

詹妮弗从1500名申请者中被选中了，几天内她就开始跟Penn Medicine的医生见面了。

"Because this is a research trial, there are a lot of unknowns," says Dr. O'Neill,

“因为这是一项研究实验，所以还有很多未知的东西，”奥尼尔医生说，

who studied Jennifer's ultrasounds and X-rays to ensure that her anatomy was the right fit for the procedure.

他研究了詹妮弗的超声和X光，确保她的身体结构适合移植操作。

Doctors also evaluated Jennifer's medical history,

医生们还研究了詹妮弗的病史，

making sure she could tolerate the powerful anti-rejection drugs she'd need to take following the transplant.

确保她能够承受在移植后需要服用的强效防排斥药物。

In fall 2018, just two months after she'd been accepted to the study, doctors called and told her they had a donor.

2018年秋季，在她加入该研究两个月后，医生给她打电话告诉她有了捐赠者。

The 10-hour transplant surgery took place the following day,

第二天她就进行了长达十小时的移植手术，

with doctors attaching Jennifer's vagina to the top of the vagina that came with the donor cervix and uterus.

医生们把詹妮弗的阴道与捐赠者的子宫颈和子宫连接在一起。

Afterward Jennifer spent 10 days in the hospital regaining her strength and balance.

之后，詹妮弗在医院里待了10天，才恢复了体力和平衡。

"You don't realize how much you use your core muscles," she says, "until you have surgery on them."

她说:“只有你做了手术，才会意识到你的核心肌肉使用频率有多高。”