Medically, uterus transplants are a new frontier. Ethically, they reflect an increasing acceptance that transplants are justified not only to save lives, but also to improve the quality of life. That belief has already led to hand and face transplants for people with horrific injuries. Penis transplants may be next: Doctors at Johns Hopkins University plan to perform them for men wounded in combat.

The transplant is not without risk: Patients face the usual surgical hazards of bleeding and infection, and the increased odds of infection and possibly even cancer, from the anti-rejection drugs, which suppress the immune system.

But the drug risks will be relatively short-lived, as will the transplants themselves. After the woman has had one or two babies, the uterus will be removed so that she can stop taking anti-rejection drugs. A woman who wants two babies would probably keep the transplanted uterus for about five years, doctors said.

The program in Cleveland has been about 10 years in the making. Dr. Tzakis, who led the team, spent time in Sweden to learn from doctors at the University of Gothenburg, who are the only ones in the world to have performed successful uterine transplants. They have operated on nine women so far — taking the uterus from a living donor, often the recipient’s mother — and five have given birth. The babies have been premature but healthy, according to Dr. Mats Brannstrom, the leader of the program.

The Cleveland team is using dead donors, to avoid putting live ones at risk, but Dr. Falcone said the team might consider living donors in the future.

Lindsey found out that she had been born without a uterus after a series of medical tests were performed to find out why, at 16, she still had not had menstrual periods. The news was devastating: She had always hoped to have a large family. Even though she has three adopted children, she said she still craved the experience of pregnancy and childbirth.