Fertility preservation for transgender adolescents and young adults: a systematic review

Many transgender individuals choose to undergo gender-affirming hormone treatment (GAHT) and/or sex reassignment surgery (SRS) to alleviate the distress that is associated with gender dysphoria. Although these treatment options often succeed in alleviating such symptoms, they can also negatively impact future reproductive potential.

The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize the available psychosocial and medical literature on fertility preservation (FP) for transgender adolescents and young adults (TAYAs), to identify gaps in the current research and provide suggestions for future research directions.

A systematic review of English peer-reviewed papers published from 2001 onwards, using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines, was conducted. Four journal databases (Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed Medline, Ovid Embase and Ovid PsychINFO) were used to identify all relevant studies exploring psychosocial or medical aspects of FP in TAYAs. The search strategy used a combination of subject headings and generic terms related to the study topic and population. Bibliographies of the selected articles were also hand searched and cross-checked to ensure comprehensive coverage. All selected papers were independently reviewed by the co-authors. Characteristics of the studies, objectives and key findings were extracted, and a systematic review was conducted.

Included in the study were 19 psychosocial-based research papers and 21 medical-based research papers that explore fertility-related aspects specific for this population. Key psychosocial themes included the desire to have children for TAYAs; FP discussions, counselling and referrals provided by healthcare providers (HCPs); FP utilization; the attitudes, knowledge and beliefs of TAYAs, HCPs and the parents/guardians of TAYAs; and barriers to accessing FP. Key medical themes included fertility-related effects of GAHT, FP options and outcomes. From a synthesis of the literature, we conclude that there are many barriers preventing TAYAs from pursuing FP, including a lack of awareness of FP options, high costs, invasiveness of the available procedures and the potential psychological impact of the FP process. The available medical data on the reproductive effects of GAHT are diverse, and while detrimental effects are anticipated, the extent to which these effects are reversible is unknown.

FP counselling should begin as early as possible as a standard of care before GAHT to allow time for informed decisions. The current lack of high-quality medical data specific to FP counselling practice for this population means there is a reliance on expert opinion and extrapolation from studies in the cisgender population. Future research should include large-scale cohort studies (preferably multi-centered), longitudinal studies of TAYAs across the FP process, qualitative studies of the parents/guardians of TAYAs and studies evaluating the effectiveness of different strategies to improve the attitudes, knowledge and beliefs of HCPs.