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.
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boys → perform → children
The 19-year-old had his tissue removed and frozen three years ago before undergoing treatment for a serious blood disorder.
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tissue → have → disorder
He said he was “incredibly grateful” to the medical team behind the pioneering procedure, which represents a potential breakthrough for male fertility preservation.
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which → say → preservation
Chemotherapy can permanently damage the cells needed to produce sperm, leaving children who undergo it at risk of infertility in adulthood.
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who → damage → adulthood
Three years after his chemotherapy, tests showed he had no sperm in his semen.
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he → show → 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.
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it → transplant → sperm
The operation is the first of its kind in the UK, and only the second reported to have taken place worldwide.
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second → report → place
“Fertility is something I’ve struggled with personally for a long time,” said the patient, who asked to remain anonymous.
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who → struggle → time
“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.
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that → want → me
Having this procedure has given me genuine hope for the future.”
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Having → have → 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.
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I → add → words
“I’m incredibly grateful to everyone for giving me this opportunity and for all the work that has made it possible.
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it → give → work
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.
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people → hope → hope
Freezing semen is an established fertility preservation method for older teenagers and adult men.
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semen → freeze → teenagers
The new treatment potentially opens a door to fertility preservation for children needing cancer care and other treatments which require the use of chemotherapy.
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which → open → chemotherapy
The tissue taken for transplant contains spermatogonial stem cells, which are responsible for producing sperm from puberty onwards.
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which → take → puberty
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.
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which → know → 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.
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transplant → carry → 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.
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that → say → 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.
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they → start → fertility
“We are beginning to see some of these young men return to explore their fertility options.
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some → begin → options
This study offers real hope for future fertility in boys facing cancer treatment.”
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study → offer → 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.
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they → say → 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.”
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that → add → 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.
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he → report → 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.
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University → have → Edinburgh
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