Community-generated DIY HRT roadmap launched

A new roadmap to navigating do-it-yourself (DIY)  hormone replacement therapy (HRT) launches today. In response to growing shifts in NHS HRT provision, the roadmap - produced by and with trans and non-binary communities across the UK - provides practical tips on navigating HRT access, along with information on harm reduction and safer use, legal rights, and the effects HRT can have on the body.

Dr Benjamin Weil, Deputy Director of Research and Policy at The Love Tank says:

"NHS waiting lists and provision for gender affirming care make it close to impossible for most people to access HRT, and we know that thousands of people in the UK are using DIY HRT. The roadmap ensures that people seeking HRT outside of formal settings can do so as safely as possible."

The roadmap was created through community knowledge generated HRT Cafes held at the end of 2025. Those cafes shaped the content of the roadmap, with people with experience of using HRT providing the pin-points for the map.

Dr Kylo Thomas, Programme Coordinator at The Love Tank says:

"People attending the cafes shared stories of navigating hostile spaces whilst also creating healthcare webs, grounded in harm reduction, on their own terms. With this came a rich knowledge of using HRT and the reliable and safe sources of information - much of which is community created - that exist. The roadmap brings all of this together into one accessible resource."

Dr Will Nutland, Executive Director at The Love Tank says:

"The roadmap builds on The Love Tank's rich history of supporting people to access health resources when formal health systems let us down. When those health systems fail to meet needs, people turn to mutual aid, peer support, and peer generated information sharing". 

The road map is available at www.queerhealth.info/diyhrt

This work was supported by The Wellcome Trust [304046/Z/23/Z] as part of www.medicinewithoutdoctors.org/