Offering semen cryopreservation to transgender persons birth-assigned male: qualitative interviews on motivation and attitudes.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the considerations and opinions of individuals assigned male at birth (AMAB) when offered fertility preservation in Denmark, where the preservation of gametes is reimbursed?

DESIGN

Qualitative study (n = 10); participants were AMAB individuals undergoing or initiating feminizing gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) and recruited from a large Centre for Gender Identity in Denmark and through Danish Facebook groups. The participants underwent semi-structured online interviews supported by an interview guide based on a rigorous information retrieval from published research. The interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis conducted.

RESULTS

A number of themes emerged from the data, which highlighted important factors influencing the participants' fertility preservation decision-making. These included discomfort with the thoughts of delivering male genetic material; infertility being the price to pay; and difficulty imagining the future owing to mental unclarity and gender discomfort in general. The participants generally expressed a parental desire, but not exclusively for biological children. Postponing hormonal treatment and financial considerations about fertility preservation were stated as hypothetical barriers, as those were irrelevant to the Danish participants.

CONCLUSION

The findings emphasized the need for comprehensive fertility preservation counselling before GAHT. The themes were comparable to findings in previous international studies apart from the economic and treatment postponement aspects.