Scientists Grow Vaginas From Stem Cells For Women Born Without Vaginas
In girls born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH), the vagina and uterus is absent or malformed.
Girls with MRKH usually still have ovaries, labia and clitorises, and respond to hormonal changes that occur during puberty.
Puberty is the time MRKH is often diagnosed. Some girls experience amenorrhea, the absence of periods, because they don’t have a uterus.
Some MRKS girls with a uterus experience abdominal pain from the collection of blood in the uterus. Menstrual blood normally drains through the vagina. The pooled blood can cause a mass to grow that needs surgical removal.
Some women only discover their lack of a vagina when they try to have penetrative sex and cannot.
For MRKH women who have a uterus, pregnancy may be achievable only through assisted reproduction.
MRKH affects about 1 in 4,500 girls. Scientists do not know what causes MRKH. They speculate the syndrome results from a mix of genetic and environmental factors.
