Ethical considerations regarding penis transplantation surgery in transgender men-an empirical ethics study

BACKGROUND: The ongoing quest to surgically create the (nearly) ideal neophallus in transgender men has led to the continuous development of transgender medicine and the proposed introduction of penis transplantation. However, both technical and ethical issues arise when developing this treatment.

AIM: We sought to extract ethical considerations among different stakeholder groups regarding penile transplantation surgery in transgender men and to define preliminary clinical recommendations.

METHODS: Three semistructured focus groups, consisting of different stakeholders, were organized to participate in discussions of ethical considerations retrieved from the ethics literature of transplantation and transgender medicine. Analysis of the results was performed according to empirical ethics.

OUTCOMES: Study outcomes were the identification of qualitative themes describing ethical considerations pertaining to penile transplantation in transgender men.

RESULTS: Nineteen people participated in this qualitative study. The main domains that emerged included arguments in favor of and arguments against penile transplantation. Although the participants expressed positive attitudes toward developing this care, with acknowledgement of the current limitations stakeholders of all groups were reluctant to endorse the introduction of penile transplantation for transgender men at this point.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Under the present circumstances, all groups expressed both a wide variety of ethical considerations as well as a tendency to prefer developing alternative treatment options or improving the results of currently available treatments in relation to penile transplantation for transgender men.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: This study was the first (empirical) study to focus on this topic and included a diversity of stakeholder perspectives. Limitations included the hypothetical nature of the discussion as well as the clinical setting in which the topic has been studied.

CONCLUSION: Introducing penile transplantation for transgender men, under the current circumstances, comes with a wide range of ethical considerations, which deal with personal identity, autonomy, medical risks, risk for transgender support and donor willingness, and issues regarding equality. Despite the present hesitancy to use penile transplantation, should the technical side of this treatment option develop, further research in the ethical field of penile transplantation for transgender men is recommended.