A Penn Medicine nurse who donated her uterus helps another family's dream come true
A Lancaster General Health nurse’s selfless uterus donation transformed a woman’s dream of motherhood. Meet Sara, Emma, and baby Olivia in a story of science and generosity.
Sara Leister stood in a quiet conference room at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health’s Suburban Pavilion, her hands grasped tightly in front of her, as she looked nervously at her husband, then back at the door to the hallway. The 40-year-old Lancaster General nurse was about to meet a woman she’d never seen before, yet one of her organs—a uterus she’d donated over a year ago—had been part of that woman’s body, carrying a life that connected them forever.
Leister glanced at the door, then at the tattoo on her forearm: a uterus adorned with flowers and birthstones marking the births of her own two sons, now 14 and 10, as well as the birthstones for February, the month of her uterus was transplanted into another woman who dreamed of bearing her own children.
Now, another gemstone represents the birth month of the baby that was made a reality through that transplant.
The rare gift of living uterus donation is a powerful way that women who have already given birth to their own children can help others who would otherwise be unable to do so. Leister was about to join the growing list of living uterus donors who got to meet the recipients of their life-giving gift.
A long journey
In 2021, Leister learned of a groundbreaking trial Penn Medicine was conducting of a relatively new technique: uterus transplantation. A Penn Medicine news story shared the story of the first successful child born from a living donor uterus transplanted in the Uterus Transplant for Uterine Factor Infertility (UNTIL) trial. The story also said the trial was looking for women who had already given birth and who would consider donating their uterus.
“I saw how to register online and just did it immediately. I didn’t even tell my husband. He came home from work and told him ‘Hey I applied to be considered to donate my uterus,’” she laughed. “He was just kind of like, ‘uh, what? Okay.’ And I told him that I may not even hear back about it. Well, I did hear back, and after several tests I was determined to be a candidate to donate,” she recalled.
The importance of organ donation has been evident to Leister from a young age. Her childhood friend urgently and unexpectedly needed a heart and double lung transplant. Those transplants extended his life for years. “I knew the value of organ donation, so I always wanted to give that gift to someone else.”
Emma Dolezal, a 33-year-old from York County, PA, was preparing for the same moment. Born without a uterus due to a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH), she had once thought motherhood was impossible. Three failed surrogacy attempts and the looming plan for an egg donor had left her and her husband heartbroken. Then, a Facebook group post about Penn Medicine’s uterine transplant trial changed everything. Dolezal applied, was accepted, and underwent the groundbreaking procedure led by Kate O’Neill, MD, MTR, program director of the Uterus Transplant Program. Leister’s donated uterus became Dolezal’s miracle, and through in vitro fertilization (IVF), a baby girl began to grow.
Face-to-face with a miracle
Now, on a July morning in 2025, the two women were moments from meeting. Dolezal entered the room, cradling her newborn daughter, Olivia, the eighth child born through Penn Medicine’s uterine transplant program. Leister’s breath caught as she saw the tiny bundle, her eyes meeting Dolezal’s. “This is a beautiful moment,” Dolezal said, tears welling. “I get to see a part of my miracle face-to-face.” Leister replied, “I knew there’d be a baby at the end. And here she is. It’s amazing.”
They sat, strangers bound by an extraordinary act, sharing laughter and tears over Olivia, who cooed and drank from her bottle, unaware of the medical marvel that brought her here.
“It’s just incredible that someone would give this chance to another woman,” said Dolezal. O’Neill was part of a talented medical team including Nawar Latif, MD, MPH, Kim Olthoff, MD and Samir Abu-Galaza, MD, that transplanted Leister’s uterus in Dolezal. Now, she watched quietly in the corner of the conference room, her hands together, with her fingertips touching her chin.
Out of the six women O’Neill had helped turn into moms thanks to the uterus transplant trial, this was the first time she was in attendance for a uterus recipient and donor meeting for the first time.
With Dolezal’s and Leister’s permission, local news station WGAL was there to capture the intimate moment.
“Creating more amazing moms is what makes this special,” O’Neill told WGAL. “This shows women born without a uterus that they can carry a child.”
The uterus transplant procedure, once a trial, is now available at Penn Medicine to those who qualify, though costs for the transplant, IVF, and pregnancy remain steep and the parts of the program are not covered through insurance. “That’s something we’re advocating for and finding ways to lessen the financial burden for those that are a good candidate for uterus transplant,” said O’Neill.
How you can donate
Of the more than six million women in the United States who struggle with infertility, approximately 100,000 have uterine factor infertility (UFI), a condition characterized by the absence of a functional uterus and irreversible infertility. Women who have completed childbearing and want to give the gift of motherhood to a woman diagnosed with UFI can donate their uterus for transplantation.
To be eligible, uterus donors must be between 30 and 50 years old, in good health, have a body mass index (BMI) less than 30, have given birth to children of their own, be cancer-free for at least five years, and have no history of diabetes.
As Dolezal and Leister sat with their husbands in a circle, Olivia being passed back and forth between them, Dolezal looked down at her baby. “Olivia will know about Sara,” she said. “She will know she was wanted.” In the quiet of the room, their connection stood as proof of what science and generosity could achieve, opening a path for countless women to experience the joy of carrying a child. Leister laughed, “If I had another uterus to give, I would.”
Visit the Penn Medicine uterus transplant program page for more information.