PUNE: It was a happy day for 3-month-old Radha, Asia's first baby born after uterus transplant, as she was discharged from Galaxy Hospital and went home for the first time on Thursday.

Speaking about the journey from the transplant surgery to the discharge, Laparoscopic Oncosurgeon Dr Shailesh Puntambekar and the man behind the transplant operation said, “This has been a very hard and long journey for us as well as Radha's parents. In May 2017, we had performed the uterus transplant surgery and in October this year, 17 months after the transplant, we had Radha. There had been several setbacks but Meenakshi (Radha's mother) and Radha fought them and wrote the success story."

"The first embryo transplant we tried resulted in abortion, but fortunately for us, the second try was successful," he said.

“We are thankful to everyone at Galaxy Hospital, especially to Dr Puntambekar, for giving us Radha. We have been here for the last 18 months and it feels like a home here. I wish Radha grows up to become a doctor like Dr Puntambekar," said Radha's mother Meenakshi Walan.

Neonatologist Dr Sandeep Kadam said, “Radha was born prematurely and her weight at birth was only 1.45 kg. Thus, she had to be kept in ICU for almost a month-and-a-half. Now, she has fully recovered and is going home. It is a very emotional moment for all of us here at Galaxy Hospital.”

Dr Puntambekar added, “Doctors at Galaxy Hospital are trying to inculcate laparoscopic technology in uterus transplant as well as removal, so as to reduce the number of surgeries a woman has to go through if she opts for this method.”