The three-parent technique allows trans men to avoid undergoing unpleasant fertility treatments.
Findings of a new study indicate that combining two currently-used methods could help trans men have babies,The new technique is crucial since trans men may want to avoid undergoing fertility treatments as they require stopping gender-affirming hormone therapy and undergoing potentially uncomfortable procedures, including female hormone therapies and vaginal exams.Egg retrieval has already helped some people have babies after surviving cancer.
"Every person should have the right to reproduce," says Antonia Christodoulaki from Ghent University in Belgium, who presented her findings at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology annual meeting in Milan, Italy, last month. She further adds that this method could provide trans men with more options, especially for those who want to have babies using their own eggs.
“It’s an additional option to enable people to have their own biological children," states Suzannah Williams from the University of Oxford, who was not a participant in the research. "You do end up with a three-parent family … but it's a great possibility."therapies might influence fertility, trans men who want to have biological children and are considering gender-affirming treatments are recommended to have some of their eggs collected and frozen.
Testosterone therapy, for instance, is considered to have an impact on egg production. Additionally, some people could decide to have their ovaries completely removed. Fertility preservation methods, on the other hand, can lead to potentially unpleasant side effects for a trans man, such as breast tenderness and cramping. Vaginal exams at women's health clinics could be distressing for a person who does not identify as female. "Egg collection is considered very uncomfortable and unpleasant, physically and mentally, if you're a trans man," says Williams.