This Transgender Teen Could Become A Father Someday Thanks To Early Egg Retrieval

Transitioning is no easy feat, especially for young kids and teenagers. There are a lot of choices to make, not the least of which concerns maybe wanting biological children at some point in the future. But 18-year-old Cole Carman, a young transgender man who was assigned female at birth, knew he wanted to transition and also knew that he wanted kids someday. Now, thanks to some medical intervention, he might be the first trans teen to freeze some of his eggs before transitioning.

”I’ve always known I wanted to have kids of my own, so when my endocrinologist talked to me about it, it was a no-brainer,” Carman told Yahoo Parenting.

Carman knew he wanted children, so he brought the possibility up with his doctors, but a lot of trans kids aren’t given that option.

”Some transgender people who realized after gender reassignment surgery that they wanted kids of their own had no chance, because they already had their reproductive organs removed,” said Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh.

Hormone therapy can also damage an ovary’s ability to produce healthy eggs later in life if that ovary’s owner later decided he wanted some. So Carman decided to harvest some eggs now, before beginning testosterone therapy, so that he’ll have some eggs available in storage if he ever decides he wants to use them.

Egg retrieval and storage is not inexpensive, though. Carman has his parents’ support, and a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for egg storage.

Carman has since started the testosterone therapy and enrolled as a student in college. He may or may not decide he wants to use the eggs someday, and if he does decide to use them to become a father, he’ll have the options of carrying the child himself, using a surrogate, or having a partner bear the child. He’s just 18, and few among us knew everything we wanted from life at that age. Whatever he decides to do, this procedure gives him options, and that’s excellent.

(Photo: Gofundme/ColeFertilityFund)