'Pioneering' surgery means young cancer patient may have children

A teenager has had tissue from his testicles removed and retransplanted in the hope of still being able to have children after chemotherapy.

The "pioneering" surgery is the first time in NHS history that doctors have transplanted a man's own testicular tissue back to him.

The tissue, containing post-puberty sperm producing stem cells, was taken and frozen in 2023 when the boy was 16.

This was before he had chemotherapy, which was needed ahead of a bone marrow transplant for a serious blood disorder.

It was transplanted back in August this year, three years after the chemotherapy, which can permanently destroy cells needed to create sperm.

It's now hoped he will be able to produce viable sperm again, which doctors will assess in the spring.

The only time the procedure has taken place was in Belgium, and that patient is now producing sperm.

The UK-based patient, now 19, said that it had given him "genuine hope for the future", as fertility "is something I've struggled with personally for a long time".

He added: "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.

"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."

Chemotherapy can permanently destroy cells needed to create sperm, leaving children who have treatment at risk of infertility later in life.

Freezing semen can help teenage boys and adult men preserve fertility, but for pre-pubescent boys this is not an option.

The new treatment potentially means children needing cancer care and other treatments that require the use of chemotherapy can do the same.

The testicular tissue taken for transplant contains so-called spermatogonial stem cells, which are responsible for producing sperm from puberty onwards.

NHS Lothian carried out the procedure, supported by funding from Children with Cancer UK.

Study lead Rod Mitchell, professor of developmental endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh, called it "a big step towards helping boys facing treatments that damage their fertility to have children of their own".

He added: "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.

"We are beginning to see some of these young men return to explore their fertility options.

"This study offers real hope for future fertility in boys facing cancer treatment."

Tracey Gillies, medical director at NHS Lothian, called it a "landmark" procedure and a "significant piece of world-leading work".

(c) Sky News 2026: 'Pioneering' surgery means young cancer patient may have children