Systematic review of fertility preservation options in transgender patients: a guide for plastic surgeons.

Transgender patients often desire to have biological children. However, their reproductive potential is often negatively impacted by gender affirming surgery (GAS) such as gender confirmation surgery (bottom surgery) and medical hormone therapy. Therefore, counselling patients on fertility preservation options before initiating gender-affirming treatments is prudent to avoid reducing their reproductive potential. A systematic review of English, Spanish, Chinese, French and Turkish languages from 2000 to December 23rd, 2019, using the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines, was conducted. The search strategy was designed and conducted by an experienced librarian with input from the study's principle investigator. Fifteen articles that report outcomes of fertility preservation options in transgenders were included. Eight articles described options for transgender women, six reported options for transgender men and one included both transgender women and transgender men. Semen cryopreservation and oocyte cryopreservation are the most common and available methods for fertility preservation in transgenders. Physician awareness of fertility preservation options in transgender patients is crucial to ensure informed discussions regarding reproductive options in the early phase of transition.
Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-4523). The series “Transgender Surgery” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. OJM served as the unpaid Guest Editor of the series. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.
(2021 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)