Dozens of experts from some of the nation's top medical centers met for hours in a closed-door meeting this week with the transplant team from Baylor University Medical Center, which remains the only U.S. center to successfully deliver a baby to a woman who had received a uterus from a donor.

The gathering included more than 40 representatives from institutions that have either attempted uterine transplants or are actively establishing similar programs. They shared best practices and experiences, and collaborated on soon-to-be released guidelines that could set the bar for future attempts.

“It makes no sense not to share the experience. This is not just a Baylor thing, this is a national thing,” said Dr. Giuliano Testa, a Baylor transplant surgeon and principal investigator of the uterine transplant trial.

Baylor University Medical Center hosted the first ever national meeting of uterine transplant specialists in Dallas on March 5, just one day after announcing a second milestone with the novel uterine transplant surgery. The meeting included experts from Cleveland Clinic, Yale University, Mayo Clinic, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Cedars Sinai, as well as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. (Baylor University Medical Center)

The meeting in Dallas was the first for this particular group of experts, which included specialists in reproductive medicine, transplantation and other disciplines from Cleveland Clinic — the first in the U.S. to attempt the procedure — and Yale University, Mayo Clinic, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cedars Sinai.

It’s a type of collaboration that has been historically rare in the fast-paced and competitive health care environment, where researchers have been reluctant to share data and outcomes.

“But the only way we can help each other to not make the same mistakes is by sharing,” said Dr. Liza Johannesson, who came to Baylor last year and was previously part of a successful program in Sweden. “We really want this to be a success, and all of the centers want the same thing.”

Only a handful of teams globally have ever attempted the transplants, which are controversial because of the high costs and high risks associated with a surgery that isn't lifesaving.

In 2016, Baylor became the first in the U.S. to try it using organs donated by women who are not deceased. In November, a mother in the trial delivered a baby boy, the first child in the nation to be born to a mother who had undergone the surgery.

This week's meeting at Baylor took place as the center announced another milestone, a second mother in the trial gave birth to a baby girl in February.

The success has drawn a high level of interest, with about 450 potential recipients and 150 potential donors reaching out to the Dallas institution since December, the transplant team said Tuesday. Testa said the Baylor Foundation has been generous in its financial support, but more funding will be needed to continue the research.

Meanwhile, the transplantation community, with the help of Baylor and the other institutions, already has a set of draft guidelines on uterine transplantation that could be made public in a matter of weeks.

"We don't know who may want to do this, so it's important for us to put together guidance," said Dr. Christos Coutifaris, a reproductive specialist at the University of Pennsylvania and president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. He was one of the experts to attend the meeting this week.

"It's moving so quickly because it's important," he said. "If you detect enthusiasm in my voice, it's because it's real."