TL;DR: £10.7m in funding for the proposed puberty blocker trial for transgender children and teenagers has been announced, along with some limited initial details. However, it is still pending regulatory approval, so its start date is still a way off.
The organisations who will run a trial for trans youth using puberty blockers have been announced. We also heard some additional details this week, but it’s all pending regulatory approval.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will deliver the NHS's proposed trial of puberty blocker use for Trans+ children, working with a team of researchers led by King’s College London, in a contract worth £10.7m - The Independent
Crucially, the trial will be one of four pathways that are being explored, based on recommendations from the now widely discredited Cass Review.
It will be the only way for Trans+ children to legally access the drugs since Health Secretary Wes Streeting made an emergency ban on the drugs "indefinite", banning their use now right across the UK. He prioritised the beliefs of a number of anti-trans organisations to make his decision - QueerAF
What do we know about NHS Puberty blocker trial?
The trial is still pending regulatory approval, so the details are sparse. However, along with the announcement of who would conduct it, some other details have emerged.
The NHS puberty blocker trial will only monitor children on the drugs for two years, with little detail on what happens to those children - and whether they will still have access to blockers - after this period. The children will have “regular checks on their physical, social and emotional wellbeing”. They'll also have to have regular brain scans. Children will also only be able to take part if they “want to delay puberty” and if their “parents and gender service agree” to the treatment - The Telegraph
A comparison group of young people attending NHS gender services who do not take puberty blockers will also be studied as part of the trial - GCN
James Palmer, the NHS national medical director for specialised services, said: “This suite of research will examine the evidence for a range of clinical care, including the use of puberty-suppressing hormones, following advice from the Cass Review." The trial summary also does not yet specify the age of participants who can take part. Puberty blockers are generally given in at the start of puberty which starts around the age of ten or eleven. - The Times
Analysis: The start of a long drawn out trial
When it finally begins, the trial is expected to run until January 2031. That means the "indefinite" ban on puberty blockers will likely continue until long after that date and until any final results are published. That will leave young Trans+ people in the UK with diminished access to gender-affirming care for, at a minimum, another six years.
But the reality is that the prohibition will likely extend much further. Much of the rhetoric and criticism of the use of puberty blockers in children is based on fear that we don't know what their impact is 'in the long term'.
This study, once again, will focus on their effects in the short and medium term. It will, therefore, likely only go on to inform other longer-term studies. That means it will likely replicate, rather than add to, the body of evidence that was largely ignored and dismissed as ‘too low quality’ by the Cass Review.
This is the start of an incredibly long, drawn-out process, that meanwhile will allow free reign for the recommendations of the Cass Review to further decimate opportunities for gender-affirming care for children, young people and even adults.
While all of this takes place, cisgender children who need puberty blockers and have been using it safely for decades will continue to receive them.
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