Growing human testis tissue in the lab to produce sperm
Official title: Organizing and Reorganizing Human Testis Development In Vitro
Funded at Magee-Women's Res Inst and Foundation · NIH-11139539 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are building lab systems to grow immature testis tissue into sperm so boys and men who couldn't bank sperm before cancer treatment might have biological children later.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Magee-Women's Res Inst and Foundation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 22, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $531,820 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD114210-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11139539 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are boys (and adolescents) who had immature testis tissue cryopreserved before gonadotoxic therapy and who donated tissue for research at the participating centers.
✕Less likely to help
People without previously cryopreserved testis tissue, those whose infertility has other causes, or those needing immediate fertility solutions would not benefit directly from this research.
What this research studies
The team will use cryopreserved immature testis tissue donated by patients to learn how human testis and sperm-producing cells develop from newborn to adult stages. They will compare three physiomimetic lab systems, including microfluidic and air–liquid interface approaches, to find conditions that support maturation of spermatogonial stem cells. Benchmarks from human tissues will guide optimization and measure progress toward generating sperm ex vivo. This work focuses on methods that could let previously infertile cancer survivors use their stored tissue for assisted reproduction in the future.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could let boys who had testis tissue frozen before cancer treatment later produce sperm for use with fertility treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Animal studies and a few early human tissue experiments have shown partial progress, but reliably producing fully functional human sperm in the lab is still largely unproven and experimental.
Where this research is happening
-
Magee-Women's Res Inst and Foundation
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Orwig, Kyle Edwin — Magee-Women's Res Inst and Foundation
- Study coordinator: Orwig, Kyle Edwin
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.