Webinar 16 September 2025
The PATHWAYS puberty suppression and transitional care study has received over £10 million in public funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). It will include a clinical trial of puberty blockers in children referred to youth gender clinics. The trial was due to have started recruiting in the Spring, but it is delayed as it has not yet received ethical approval.
In this webinar, we ask whether a clinical trial of puberty blockers for adolescents with gender incongruence of any design could 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 who have experience 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 unlikely to fulfil the fundamental ethical requirements. They will outline other ways that research could help answer the question of how to help children and adolescents who are experiencing gender-related distress.
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 Hannah Ryan is a Registrar in Clinical Pharmacology and general medicine in the north west. She has experience in evidence synthesisfor guidelines, and is the author of several Cochrane evidence reviews. Hannah will explain why sound scientific trial design is an ethical requirement in clinical research.
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.
References:
A full list of references is available on the CAN-SG website can-sg.org
Other links:
Article about ethics of puberty blocker trial
CAN-SG letter to regulators about our concerns
What you can do:
Write to the Health Research Authority, the MHRA, the sponsors Kings College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, and the chair of the Research Oversight Committee.