Reproductive wish in transsexual men

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hormonal therapy and sex reassignment surgery (SRS) in transsexual persons lead to an irreversible loss of their reproductive potential. The current and future technologies could create the possibility for female-to-male transsexual persons (transsexual men) to have genetically related children. However, little is known about this topic. The aim of this study is to provide information on the reproductive wishes of transsexual men after SRS. METHODS: A self-constructed questionnaire was presented to 50 transsexual men in a single-center study. RESULTS: The majority (64%) of transsexual men were currently involved in a relationship. Eleven participants (22.0%) reported having children. For eight participants, their female partner was inseminated with donor sperm, whereas three participants gave birth before hormonal therapy and SRS. At the time of interview, more than half of the participants desired to have children (54%). There were 18 participants (37.5%) who reported that they had considered freezing their germ cells, if this technique would have been available previously. Participants without children at the time of investigation expressed this desire more often than participants with children (χ2 test: P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Our data reveal that the majority of transsexual men desire to have children. Therefore, more attention should be paid to this topic during the diagnostic phase of transition and to the consequences for genetic parenthood after starting sex reassignment therapy. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.