NHS performs UK's first frozen testicular tissue transplant to restore fertility in a teenager left unable to produce sperm

From the Newshound archive · first published 8 October 2026 · last updated 9 October 2026.

A 19-year-old university student has become the first person in the UK to receive a transplant of his own frozen testicular tissue, in a procedure carried out by NHS Lothian surgeons in Edinburgh in August. The tissue was removed when he was 16, before high-dose chemotherapy for a serious blood disorder destroyed his ability to produce sperm. The operation is only the second of its kind ever reported worldwide, with the only previous case carried out in Belgium resulting in sperm production.

The patient said: 'I've always wanted children, but I found myself starting to accept that might never be possible for me.'

Doctors will surgically remove a tissue sample after eight months to determine whether sperm have been produced.

The University of Edinburgh, backed by Children with Cancer UK, spent a decade developing the technique, which could help pre-pubescent boys who cannot freeze semen.