Doctors in the middle of carrying out a womb transplant at Xijing Hospital in Xi'an city, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province on Nov 20, 2015. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A young woman, born without a uterus, has the chance to bear a baby after doctors successfully implanted her mother's womb, the first such case in China and only the 12th worldwide.

Yang Hua (not her real name), 22, a resident of Ankang city in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, was diagnosed in 2013 at Xijing Hospital in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi to have been born without a uterus or vagina.

"I felt so desperate after the incredible diagnosis but saw a glimmer of hope when doctors told me I could still have my own baby by receiving a transplanted uterus," the woman said.

Yang's mother, 43, who learned she might be able to help her daughter, decided to donate her uterus.

"In order to let my daughter have a perfect life, I am willing to even donate my life," the mother said.

Fortunately, the HLA (human leukocyte antigen) of the mother and daughter matched for the transplant.

While waiting for the transplant, Yang got married and her husband fully supported her to have the operation.

After a full preoperative preparation, the operation was performed on Nov 20 by a team of 38 experts from 11 medical departments, with the help of surgical robot da Vinci, in a procedure lasting 14 hours.

The hospital announced on Wednesday that the uterus has not been rejected and patient and donor had recovered well.

Uterus transplantation is a hugely difficult procedure because it is located deep in the pelvis with fine blood vessels which are very difficult to cut and stitch, and the rejection of a transplanted uterus is more common than other organs, said Chen Biliang, director of obstetrics and gynecology at the hospital.

It has been reported that only 11 other cases of uterus transplantation had been carried in the world, of which eight organs survived and one resulted in the birth of a baby.

The first baby conceived in a transplanted womb was born in Sweden in October, 2014. The child's mother is among nine womb transplant patients in Sweden.

Early in 2011, the recipient of a transplanted womb in Turkey miscarried after falling pregnant through in vitro fertilization.

While the first such operation was performed in Saudi Arabia in 2000, the recipient had to have the transplanted womb removed three months after surgery due to a blood clot.

China has no finite statistics but it has been estimated that 100,000 to 120,000 of the total girls born annually suffer from the congenital absence of a uterus and vagina.

The successful operation brings hope to those born without the organs and those whose uteruses have had to be removed due to illness, Chen said.

Yang Hua's case has moved many Internet users on Chinese social media.

"It's the mother love that makes Yang's mother choose to transplant her womb to her daughter and Yang chooses to endure every possible pain she may suffer to have her own baby", said a Weibo user named Xiayudefeng.