Surgeons have performed the first testicular tissue transplant on a teenager in the UK, offering hope that boys left infertile by chemotherapy could one day have biological children.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old had his tissue removed and frozen three years ago before undergoing treatment for a serious blood disorder. He said he was \u201cincredibly grateful\u201d to the medical team behind the pioneering procedure, which represents a potential breakthrough for male fertility preservation.<\/p>\n
Chemotherapy can permanently damage the cells needed to produce sperm, leaving children who undergo it at risk of infertility in adulthood. Three years after his chemotherapy, tests showed he had no sperm in his semen.<\/p>\n
Now a team of NHS medics in Edinburgh have transplanted his previously frozen testicular tissue back into his body, in the hope that it will begin to produce sperm.<\/p>\n
The operation is the first of its kind in the UK, and only the second reported to have taken place worldwide. \u201cFertility is something I\u2019ve struggled with personally for a long time,\u201d said the patient, who asked to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to have children of my own but at some point, I found myself starting to slowly accept that that might never be possible for me. Having this procedure has given me genuine hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The student added: \u201cWe don\u2019t know yet whether it will work, but knowing that there is now even a possibility means more to me than I can really put into words.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly grateful to everyone for giving me this opportunity and for all the work that has made it possible. I also hope that being part of this research means that, in the future, other young people in the same position can have that hope too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freezing semen is an established fertility preservation method for older teenagers and adult men.<\/p>\n
But for pre-pubescent boys this is not an option. The new treatment potentially opens a door to fertility preservation for children needing cancer care and other treatments which require the use of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
The tissue taken for transplant contains spermatogonial stem cells, which are responsible for producing sperm from puberty onwards.<\/p>\n
Doctors should know in a matter of months whether the procedure, which took place in August, has enabled the 19-year-old to produce viable sperm.<\/p>\n