Options for Fertility Treatments for Trans Women in Germany

Abstract

Fertility preservation in trans women is a crucial but thus far neglected component in the gender confirming treatment in Germany. It is difficult for trans women to access reproductive health care because centers offering treatment, psychological guidance, gender confirming surgery, as well as reproductive health services are scarce in Germany. Legal, social, or financial issues as well as individual patient comorbidities prevent trans women from receiving appropriate counselling. This review provides an overview on options of fertility preservation in trans women. We consider recent publications on testicular regression at the time of gender confirming surgery demonstrating presence of sperm or at least spermatogonia in the majority of tissues. This may open options for cryopreservation of sperm or testicular stem cells in trans women even at the final stage of transition. Hence, standardized urological procedures (i.e., sperm cryopreservation after masturbation or sperm extraction from the testicular tissue) and experimental approaches (cryopreservation of testicular tissue with undifferentiated spermatogonia) can be offered best at the initiation but also during the gender confirming process. However, counselling early in the gender confirming process increases the chances of fertility preservation because gender confirming hormone therapy has an impact on spermatogenesis.