Session 49: Transfolk- What we need to know

Session 49: Transfolk- What We Need to Know

Moderators: Dr. Lynn Westphal and Anna McLaughlin

"Transfolk - What Fertility Services Ought to Know"
Dr. James Barrett

“Fertility Preservation in Transgender Patients”
Dr. Thanos Papathanasiou

"Patient Journey in a Fertility Clinic"
Venessa Smith

DR. JAMES BARRETT

Dr. Barrett is the Director of the largest and oldest gender identity clinic, opened in 1966: The Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic (Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust).

He has worked in this field for thirty-five years and has assessed at least fifteen thousands patients over that time. He is the Editor and major contributor to the first UK text book on the subject and co-author of the most recent work aimed at Psychiatrists, psychologists and other health care professionals.
Dr Barrett was previously a member of the NHS Clinical Reference Group and is past President of the British Association of Gender Identity Specialists.

Dr. THANOS PAPATHANASIOU

Dr. Thanos Papathanasiou MD MRCOG FHEA is the lead clinician for Bourn Hall clinics in the Anglia region (Cambridge, Norwich, King’s Lynn and Peterborough) and since September 2019 he has also taken up the role of Medical Director for the Bourn Hall group in the UK.
Thanos has a medical Doctorate from the University of London for research on specialised functions of the human fallopian tube, and also has a postgraduate qualification in medical education, as well as being a certified trainer in pelvic ultrasound techniques.
Within IVF, he has a particular interest in managing women with low ovarian reserve as well as women who respond poorly to stimulation drugs.
Within the area of PCOS and other female hormonal conditions, he has worked in the fertility and endocrine clinics of two large London hospitals.
Before settling at Bourn Hall, he had a successful career in Greece as a recognised expert in the field and published a book on PCOS.

VENESSA SMITH

Venessa Smith is a HCPC registered clinical scientist with more than 20 years’ experience working in fertility. She has worked as an embryologist at a number of different UK clinics followed by the London Women’s Clinic in Harley Street as Embryology Laboratory and Sperm Bank Manager where she developed a specific interest in gamete donation. She later became the  group's Quality Manager and is experienced in clinical governance, helping clinics develop Total Quality Management programmes, performing  audits, and passionate about supporting staff.
Venessa is a regular speaker for the Donor Conception Network Planning for Parenthood Workshops and has contributed to a number of books and journals. She currently sits on the HFEA Licensed Centre’s Panel and was part of the HFEA Working Group for the most recent edition of the HFEA Code of Practice. She has recently joined the  Assisted Conception Unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

DR. LYNN WESTPHAL

Dr. Lynn Westphal received her BA from Lawrence University, earned her MD degree from Stanford University, and did her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA and Stanford University. She did a fellowship in molecular biology at Stanford University, and completed her fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) at UCSF.
Dr. Westphal is Professor Emerita in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Stanford University School of Medicine. At Stanford, she was Founder and Director of the Fertility Preservation and Third Party Reproduction Programs, and Director of the REI Fellowship. Her interest in fertility preservation for cancer survivors led her to set up one of the first oocyte cryopreservation programs in the country in 1999. She was the Director of Women’s Health at Stanford from 2005-2012, and then co-founded the Stanford Center for Health Research on Women and Sex Differences in Medicine (WSDM). She joined Kindbody, a women’s healthcare company, as Chief Medical Officer in 2019.

ANNA McLAUGHLIN

Anna is a clinical embryologist with over 6 years of experience. She is currently employed at The London Women’s Clinic, London. Anna graduated from University
of Ulster, Coleraine with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science and a Diploma in Professional Practice. She completed a Masters in Reproductive Science & Women’s Health at University College London (UCL). During her time at UCL she was a founding member and key organiser of the ‘Young Embryologist Network’ (YEN). While undertaking her embryology training Anna was awarded the ‘Care and Compassionate Award’ for Allied Health Professionals within the NHS. In her spare time she thoroughly enjoys playing tennis, socialising and reading.