Transgender reproductive choice and fertility preservation

Abstract

Increasing numbers of young transgender people are now using medical technologies to achieve a physical gender transition. However, the procedures of physical gender transition might cause temporary or permanent sterility. Thus many transgender people are now using fertility preservation technologies. Nonetheless, they can experience dilemmas in making reproductive and family-building decisions and face challenges in gaining access to and utilizing fertility preservation services. Based on qualitative research conducted with transgender men and women who used reproductive technologies for preserving their fertility before or during their physical transition, this paper contributes to the discourse of reproductive choice by the inclusion of transgender people's experience.