Scientists are preparing to carry out the first ever testicle transplant on a boy facing cancer treatment. Peter Schlegel, a reproductive specialist at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Centre, said that he expects to receive ethical approval for the transplant before the end of the year. If approved, the procedure will be performed on a boy whose testicles will be removed and frozen prior to fertility-destroying cancer treatment. The testicles can then be replaced once treatment has ended and the boy has reached puberty. Dr Schlegel predicted that if the technique is shown to work well on boys, it would provide the necessary impetus for testicle transplants to be performed on adult men with fertility problems. Dr Schlegel said, 'I am sure that testicular transplants between men will be done in the next 10 years and there are a number of groups other than ours who are working on it'.

Experiments on animals have already shown that testicle transplants are possible and that the procedure within the same animal is a relatively straightforward surgical procedure.