Teenager becomes first person to have testicular tissue transplant in UK

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.

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 “incredibly grateful” to the medical team behind the pioneering procedure, which represents a potential breakthrough for male fertility preservation.

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.

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.

The operation is the first of its kind in the UK, and only the second reported to have taken place worldwide. “Fertility is something I’ve struggled with personally for a long time,” said the patient, who asked to remain anonymous.

“I’ve 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.”

The student added: “We don’t 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.

“I’m 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.”

Freezing semen is an established fertility preservation method for older teenagers and adult men.

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.

The tissue taken for transplant contains spermatogonial stem cells, which are responsible for producing sperm from puberty onwards.

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.

The transplant, carried out by medics at NHS Lothian and backed by funding from Children with Cancer UK, follows a decade of research by the University of Edinburgh.

Rod Mitchell, professor of developmental endocrinology at Edinburgh’s Institute for Regeneration and Repair, and a consultant paediatric endocrinologist at NHS Lothian, said: “This is a big step towards helping boys facing treatments that damage their fertility to have children of their own.

“Ten years ago, we started our research programme to freeze and store pieces of testicle from boys before they start chemotherapy, to preserve their fertility.

“We are beginning to see some of these young men return to explore their fertility options. This study offers real hope for future fertility in boys facing cancer treatment.”

Tracey Gillies, the medical director at NHS Lothian, said the operation was a “landmark procedure” and marked an important step forward for children whose fertility may be affected by treatment they needed to overcome serious illness.

She added: “We are grateful to the patient and his family for helping advance research that could transform care for others in the future.”

In May, the Guardian reported how a man whose testicular tissue was frozen before he had chemotherapy as a child and retransplanted 16 years later had been able to produce sperm.

More than 1,200 patients in the UK and 3,100 worldwide had had testicular tissue stored for potential future use, the University of Edinburgh said.