Tue 16 Sep 2025 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM BST Online, Zoom
The Pathways puberty suppression study has received £10 million in funding from the UK Government. It will include a clinical trial of puberty blockers in children referred to youth gender clinics, as well as a longitudinal observational study (Horizon). The puberty blocker clinical trial was supposed to have started recruiting in the Spring but this has been delayed and it appears that the trial has not yet received ethical approval. The protocol for the Horizon observational study has been published.
In this webinar we ask whether a clinical trial of puberty blockers for adolescents with gender incongruence can meet the ethical standards for clinical research in children and young people.
Dr David Bell will chair and facilitate a discussion and Q+A with two clinicians, Dr Sinead Helyar and Dr Hannah Ryan, who have expertise in clinical research, clinical trials and evidence evaluation.
They will discuss the ethical implications of the proposed puberty blocker trial and explain why such a trial is unable to fulfil the fundamental ethical requirements of clinical trials and should not go ahead. They will outline other, ethical, ways that research could help answer the question of how better to help children and adolescents who are experiencing gender-related distress, including discussion of the proposed Horizon observational cohort study.
Speakers
Dr David Bell retired from his post as Consultant Psychiatrist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in 2021. In 2018, whilst serving as Trust Governor representing the clinical staff, he authored a report that was highly critical of the Tavistock Gender Identity Service for children and adolescents (GIDS). This report was part of the chain of events leading to the Cass Review and subsequently the closure of GIDS. He is a past president of the British Psychoanalytic Society.
Dr Sinead Helyar is a registered nurse and clinical researcher who has considerable expertise in clinical trials. Her role requires a thorough understanding of research ethics. Sinead will talk about clinical trial regulations and ethical principles as they apply to the proposed puberty blocker trial – central here is the fact that the proposed trial will be carried out on minors.
Dr Hannah Ryan is a Registrar in Clinical Pharmacology and general medicine in the north west. She has experience in evidence synthesis for guidelines, and is author of several Cochrane evidence reviews. Hannah will explain why sound scientific trial design is an ethical requirement in clinical research.
This webinar is free but, if you are able to do so, a donation would be appreciated.