The new Do No Harm report says some online pharmacies and networks make it disturbingly easy for minors to buy cross-sex hormones, and it lays out names and guides that help teens and others sidestep safeguards. The findings point to a mix of unregulated pharmacies, so-called homebrewers, and resource sites that direct people straight to vendors without clear prescription or age checks. This article walks through the main claims from the report, quotes its experts word for word, and highlights the kinds of sites and sellers the report flagged. It also notes the political response and why Republican policymakers are pushing for tougher enforcement to protect children.
The report alleges that many online vendors do not require a prescription or verify age before prompting buyers to submit payment, creating an opening for minors. Do No Harm compiled lists and examples showing how resource pages and forums point readers to vendors and even to DIY hormone recipes. Those pathways show how, in practice, serious medical decisions can be reduced to a few clicks on a phone or laptop.
Do No Harm quotes its chief medical officer at length. “From websites listing online vendors across the globe to marketplaces for ‘homebrewed’ hormones, we found a multitude of troubling pathways that appear to bypass basic safeguards and regulatory oversight,” the report says. “Gender-confused kids should not be able to purchase potent, experimental medications with just a few simple clicks. These hormones carry significant risks, including effects that can be irreversible.”
The report highlights specific resource sites that walk users through the steps of getting hormones, sometimes offering explicit guides aimed at young people. One site the report reviewed tells visitors that “getting hormones without a prescription is against the law,” while simultaneously listing vendors and linking to instructions about how to order anyway. Another guide aimed at minors says, in part, “for young people who are sure they want to make a gender change, getting on hormone blockers and maybe hormones can help a lot, adding ‘you need to be sure, though.’”
Some marketplaces and forums promote “homebrewed” products and point buyers toward a mix of pharmacies and informal suppliers, which raises clear safety and quality concerns. One of those marketplaces cautions readers that homemade or small-batch suppliers face risks: “it is important to understand the risks” because “there is a non-zero possibility of contamination or problems with the manufacturing process.” That warning underlines the risk of unregulated supply chains pushing powerful drugs into casual circulation.
The report names several online pharmacies that market internationally and, according to their own statements, can process orders without prescriptions. One such pharmacy states plainly: “No prescription to purchase any medicines in our pharmacy. By ordering from Medsmex you are agreeing that you are only purchasing medicine for your own personal use.” Another listed seller claims it is “permitted” to process orders without prescriptions. Those kinds of policies make enforcement difficult and create loopholes that bad actors can exploit.
Smaller informational hubs and lists that aggregate vendor names also play a role, offering tips like which suppliers have been “tested and verified by multiple people” and which might pose more risk. Sites that present themselves as community resources sometimes add language suggesting buyers consult peers to “minimize risk,” effectively outsourcing quality control to anonymous reviewers rather than medical professionals. That model is no substitute for proper oversight or for clinician-guided care.
Not every entry on these lists was proven to lack age checks or prescription gates, and the report acknowledges it could not verify every vendor’s processes. “It may be possible that at some point following the entry of payment information, age and prescription information is required,” the report notes, and it points out that some sellers ask customers to mail or fax prescriptions after a purchase. Even so, the pattern described suggests too many weak or inconsistent barriers where stronger verification should exist.
The report urges federal and state authorities to take action. “We urge the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] and other federal agencies to investigate any potential unlawful sellers and, where appropriate, for states to do the same when their laws are being violated,” it says. The tone reflects a Republican focus on law enforcement and child protection, arguing regulators should move quickly to close off unlawful supply routes and to hold sellers accountable.
Commercial actors named in the report offered limited responses. One site told the report: “I have no comment on your questions at this time however I want to clarify hrtcafe has never sold, nor taken money for hrt, nor shipped hrt to anyone, nor provided medical treatment in any way,” HRT Cafe said in an emailed statement. “It is just a list of places already viewable on google. The sites we link to are entirely separate entities that we benifit from in no way. The site is not monetized nor takes donation.”
On the policy front, President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January 2025 which aims to protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.” That order, and the growing reporting on online sales, gives Republican governors and legislators a rationale to tighten enforcement and to push platforms and payment processors to block unregulated sales of powerful hormones to minors. For those who want clear accountability, the report lays out names and pathways regulators can start with.
Demonstrators cheer as U.S. Capitol Police arrest demonstrators blocking a road in front of the Supreme Court during a rally for gender-affirming care in Washington, D.C. on June 20, 2025. (Photo by BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
