The new clinical trial, called Pathway, will involve children who are currently accessing gender services and have a diagnosis of gender incongruence.
They will all have reached puberty, but will be younger than 16 – and will have to meet strict criteria, undergo intensive medical and psychological screening before they are allowed to start taking puberty blockers.
A team of specialist NHS doctors must have a full picture of the young person’s wellbeing before deciding if they think they are suitable for the treatment.
The young person will also have to show they have a good enough understanding of the potential impact of taking puberty blockers to give their consent, and their parent or legal guardian will need to agree. They will be provided with ongoing psychological support.
To explore the impact of the drugs, the researchers plan to start one group on the treatment straight away and another group 12 months later. The children in these groups will be chosen randomly.
The KCL researchers said there would be no minimum age for taking the drugs, but puberty normally starts around the age of 11 for girls and 12 for boys.
The trial will look at issues such as bone density, brain development and mental health and wellbeing over time.
The research team said the trial had been given ethical approval and was expected to start in January, with five to six children recruited every month. The first results should be available in around four years.
Alongside this, a larger observational study involving 3,000 children will research different types of support and how effective they are.