gender reassignment surgery in hindi

• Piles Treatment
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ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी - Transgender surgery in Hindi

आखिरी अपडेट : Dec 06, 2022

ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी क्या है?

जेंडर रीअसाइनमेंट सर्जरी, जिसे सेक्स रीअसाइनमेंट सर्जरी भी कहा जाता है, लिंग डिस्फोरिया वाले व्यक्तियों को अपनी इच्छा अनुसार लिंग पाने के लिए यह सर्जरी की जाती है। जेंडर डिस्फोरिया से पीड़ित लोगों को अक्सर लगता है कि उनका जन्म गलत लिंग में हुआ है। जेंडर डिस्फोरिया में एक लड़की, लड़के की तरह और एक लड़का, लड़की की तरह जीना चाहते हैं यानी वे अपोजिट सेक्स में अपने आपको ज्यादा सहज महसूस करते हैं। ऐसी स्थिति होने पर लोग अपना सेक्स चेंज करवाते हैं।

यह एक सर्जिकल प्रोसीजर, या प्रक्रियाओं की श्रृंखला होती है, जो एक ट्रांसजेंडर या ट्रांससेक्सुअल व्यक्ति की शारीरिक बनावट और यौन विशेषताओं को बदलने के लिए की जाती है। जिससे वे शारीरिक, मानसिक, भावनात्मक और मनोवैज्ञानिक रूप से अपने निर्धारित लिंग से अधिक समान हो जाते है और उनके अंदर लिंग डिस्फोरिया कम हो जाता है। जिन लोगों में लिंग डिस्फोरिया होता है, जो अस्पष्ट जननांग के साथ पैदा होते हैं, अक्सर इस सर्जिकल प्रोसीजर से गुजरना चुनते हैं। लोग कभी-कभी क्रॉस जेंडर आइडेंटिटी नामक एक मानसिक स्थिति का इलाज करने के लिए भी यह सर्जरी करवाना चुन सकते हैं।

ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी के प्रकार - Transgender surgery ke prakar

ट्रांसजेंडर रोगियों को उनके लिंग से मेल खाने वाली काया (फिज़ीक) के लिए सर्जरी करवानी पड़ सकती है। इसमें चेहरे, छाती या जननांग पर प्रक्रियाएं शामिल हो सकती हैं। विशिष्ट ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी मुख्य रूप से दो प्रकार की होती हैं:

पुरुष से महिला (एमटीएफ)

यह ऑपरेशन ट्रांस महिलाओं पर किया जाता है जो पुरुष की तरह होती हैं। इस प्रक्रिया का उद्देश्य लोगों में पहले से मौजूद पुरुष जननांग को महिला जननांग की तरह बदलना होता है। बदले हुए महिला जननांग की कार्यक्षमता समान होती है। ऑपरेशन में स्तन वृद्धि, हार्मोन रिप्लेसमेंट थेरेपी, फेशियल फेमिनाइजेशन सर्जरी और चेहरे से बालों को हटाना भी शामिल होता है।

महिला से पुरुष (एफटीएम)

ट्रांस पुरुष जो महिला के रूप में होते हैं, वह ये ऑपरेशन करवाते हैं। स्तनों के आकार को कम करके या उन्हें पूरी तरह से हटाकर, सर्जरी रोगियों में एक मर्दाना चेस्ट बनाने के लिए विभिन्न तकनीकों का उपयोग किया जाता है। पुरुष में बदलने के लिए सर्जिकल प्रोसीजर में टॉप सर्जरी (छाती पुनर्निर्माण के साथ बाईलेटरल मास्टेक्टॉमी), हिस्टरेक्टॉमी और/या ओफोरेक्टॉमी, मेटोडोप्लास्टी, स्क्रोटोप्लास्टी, यूरेथेरोप्लास्टी, योनिक्टोमी, और फैलोप्लास्टी शामिल होती हैं।

चूंकि एक कार्यात्मक लिंग बनाने के लिए पर्याप्त क्लाइटोरिस टिश्यू नहीं होते है, इसलिए इनमें से अधिकांश ट्रांस पुरुष जेनिटल रीअसाइनमेंट सर्जरी करवाना नहीं चुनते हैं। इसके अतिरिक्त, यह मेथड अधिक पोस्ट-ऑपरेटिव असुविधा का कारण बनता है, इसलिए अधिकांश रोगी कम परिवर्तन विकल्पों को चुनते हैं जो उनके लिए सही होते हैं।

ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी कराने के फायदे - Transgender surgery karne ke fayde

• मनोवैज्ञानिक तनाव की कम दर
• कम आत्मघाती विचार
• गलत शरीर में होने का मानसिक तनाव कम होना
• जीवन की गुणवत्ता में सुधार करती है
• चिंता और डिप्रेशन का स्तर कम होना

ट्रांसजेंडर का ऑपरेशन क्यों कराया जाता है? - Transgender ki surgery kyun karayi jaati hai?

सर्जरी व्यक्ति की शारीरिक बनावट को बदलने के लिए की जाती है ताकि यह उनकी लिंग पहचान से मेल खा सके। लिंग डिस्फोरिया वाले लोग लिंग पुष्टि सर्जरी करवाना चुनते हैं। जेंडर डिस्फोरिया एक तनावपूर्ण विकार है और तब होता है जब आपका जैविक सेक्स आपकी लिंग पहचान से मेल नहीं खाता है।

लिंग डिस्फोरिया वाले वयस्क दुखी, चिंता और परेशानी का अनुभव करते हैं क्योंकि वे किसी अन्य व्यक्ति के शरीर में फसां हुआ महसूस करते हैं।

ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी के लिए डॉक्टर के पास कब जाएं - Transgender ke operation ke liye doctor ke pas kab jaein

जिन लोगों को जेंडर आइडेंटिटी डिसऑर्डर या जेंडर डिस्फोरिया होता है, उनका ही लिंग परिवर्तन किया जाता है। अगर किसी को भी जेंडर डिस्फोरिया जैसी स्थिति महसूस होती है, इस स्थिति में एक लड़का, लड़की की तरह और एक लड़की, लड़के की तरह व्यवहार करता है यानी वे खुद को अपोजिट सेक्स में ज्यादा सहज महसूस करते हैं।

अक्सर यह लक्षण 10-12 साल से दिखना शुरू हो जाते हैं। जैसे कोई पुरुष है तो वह महिलाओं जैसे कपड़े पहनना पसंद करता है, महिलाओं की तरह चलने की कोशिश करता है, उन्हीं की तरह इशारे करता है। इसी तरह महिलाओं के साथ भी होता है, जिसमें वे पुरुष की तरह जीना चाहती हैं। ऐसी स्थिति होने पर लोग सेक्स चेंज करवाने के लिए एक चिकित्सक से मिल सकते हैं।

ट्रांसजेंडर की सर्जरी से पहले की तैयारी - Transgender ki surgery se pehle ki tayari

• सबसे पहले एक मनोचिकित्सक से प्रमाण पत्र प्राप्त करना होता है, जो सर्जरी से पहले आवश्यक होता है।
• स्थायी लिंग सर्जरी जारी रखने के लिए, पहले दो अलग-अलग मनोचिकित्सकों से दो प्रमाणपत्र प्राप्त करने होते है।
• लिंग सर्जरी करने से पहले, सर्जन को अदालत में एक हलफनामा दाखिल करना होता है जिसमें रोगी और सर्जन दोनों को यह प्रमाणित करने की आवश्यकता होती है कि दोनों पक्षों को पता है कि प्रक्रिया स्थायी है और रोगी भविष्य में प्रजनन करने में सक्षम नहीं होगा।
• डॉक्टर सर्जरी की तैयारी के लिए विशिष्ट दवाएं लिख सकते हैं। आपके द्वारा उपयोग की जाने वाली किसी भी दवा के बारे में अपने डॉक्टर को सूचित करें। जैसे की ओवर-द-काउंटर दवाएं (खांसी की दवाई या एलर्जी की गोलियां), डॉक्टर के पर्चे की दवाएं, इनहेलर, पैच, हर्बल उपचार और विटामिन सप्लीमेंट। यदि आपको किसी दवा से एलर्जी है, तो अपने डॉक्टर को ज़रूर बताएं।
• खून को पतला करने वाली दवाएं लेना बंद कर दें क्योंकि इससे आपके खून का थक्का जमना मुश्किल हो जाता है।
• ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी में कुछ प्रमुख ऑपरेशन प्रक्रिया शामिल होती है और इसके लिए आपको अस्पताल में एक या दो रात रुकने की आवश्यकता हो सकती है, इसलिए अपने साथ कुछ आवश्यक सामान पैक करके लाएं जैसे;
• आपके रुकने को और अधिक आरामदायक बनाने के लिए एक टूथब्रश, रोब और चप्पल आदि।
• आप सर्जरी के बाद स्वयं घर नहीं जा पाएंगे, इसलिए अस्पताल से छुट्टी के बाद आपको घर ले जाने के लिए किसी की व्यवस्था करनी चाहिए।
• आपका डॉक्टर आपको सलाह दे सकता है कि सर्जरी से पहले क्या खाना चाहिए और क्या पीना चाहिए। सर्जरी से एक रात पहले, आपको शायद आधी रात के बाद खाने या पीने से बचना चाहिए। सर्जरी से पहले आपको स्पष्ट तरल आहार लेने की आवश्यकता हो सकती है।
• आपको आरामदायक, ढीले-ढाले कपड़े पहनने चाहिए जिन्हें निकालना आसान हो। अस्पताल पहुंचने के बाद आपको अस्पताल के गाउन को पहनने के लिए कहा जाता है।
• आपको मेकअप, जेवर, इत्र, लोशन, नेल पॉलिश, स्प्रे, कीमती सामान पहनने से बचना चाहिए।

ट्रांसजेंडर का ऑपरेशन कैसे किया जाता है? - Transgender ka operation kaise kiya jata hai

यह सर्जरी प्रक्रिया तीन स्टेजेस से गुजरती है। जिसमें शामिल हैं - प्रक्रिया से पहले, प्रक्रिया के दौरान, और प्रक्रिया के बाद। आइये समझते हैं -

प्रक्रिया से पहले

प्रक्रिया से पहले, सर्जन आपके आर्म या हाथ में एक IV (अंतःशिरा) लाइन डालता है। फिर पूरी सर्जरी के दौरान आपके ब्लड प्रेशर की निगरानी के लिए, एक कैथेटर (छोटी, लचीली ट्यूब) को आपके पैर, कमर, कलाई या कोहनी की धमनी में डाला जा सकता है। उसके बाद आपको सुलाने और किसी भी दर्द को महसूस होने से रोकने के लिए, जनरल एनेस्थेटिक दी जाती है।

प्रक्रिया के दौरान

प्रक्रिया के दौरान, ऑपरेशन के आधार पर चेहरे, ऊपर और नीचे के ऑपरेशन जैसी एक या कई प्रक्रियाओं का संयोजन किया जाता है, जिनमें से सभी में सर्जरी की अलग-अलग तकनीक और तरीके होते हैं। एक ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी कैसे की जाती है, इसे निम्नलिखित पॉइंट के माध्यम से समझा जा सकता है;

पुरुष-से-महिला सेक्स रिअसाइनमेंट सर्जरी में

ट्रांसजेंडर महिलाएं जिनमें जन्म के समय पुरुष लिंग होता है, वे अक्सर सेक्स रिअसाइनमेंट सर्जरी करवाती हैं, जो एक न्यूरोवस्कुलर नियोक्लिटोरिस के साथ पेनाइल इनवर्जन वैजिनोप्लास्टी के तहत की जाती है।

सर्जन ओरिजिनल लिंग (पेनिस) के अवशेषों का उपयोग एक नए नव-योनि को बनाने के लिए करता है। अंडकोष को हटाने के लिए, ऑर्किएक्टॉमी की जाती है और अंडकोश की त्वचा से लेबिया बनाया जाता है। जबकि नियोक्लिटोरिस लिंग के इरेक्टाइल टिश्यू से बनता है, मूत्रमार्ग वैसे ही बरकरार रहता है और अपने प्राकृतिक तरीके से कार्य करता है।

वांछित सेक्स की विशेषताओं को सौंदर्यपूर्ण रूप से बढ़ाने के लिए अन्य सर्जिकल प्रोसीजर भी किए जाते हैं, जिनमें शामिल हो सकते हैं;

• चीकबोन्स: चीकबोन्स को उभारने के लिए, कई ट्रांससेक्सुअल महिलाओं को इंजेक्शन लगते हैं
• चिन: आप अपनी ठुड्डी के कोणों को नरम या अधिक स्पष्ट करना चुन सकते हैं
• जबड़ा: आपके जबड़े को बेहतर बनाने के लिए, सर्जन आपके जबड़े की हड्डी को शेव कर सकता है या फिलर्स जोड़ सकता है
• नाक की सर्जरी: अपनी नाक का रूप बदलने के लिए, आप राइनोप्लास्टी करवा सकते हैं

महिला-से-पुरुष सेक्स रिअसाइनमेंट में ट्रांसजेंडर पुरुष जिनमें जन्म के समय महिला लिंग होता है, वे अक्सर सेक्स रिअसाइनमेंट सर्जरी करवाते हैं, जिसमें फैलोप्लास्टी की जाती है जो आमतौर पर रेडियल फोरआर्म फ्लैप मेथड का उपयोग करके बनाई जाती है। इसमें एक लिंग और मूत्रमार्ग बनाया जाता है जिसका उपयोग पेशाब के लिए किया जा सकता है। दूसरे चरण में टेस्टिकुलर इम्प्लांट का उपयोग करके एक अंडकोश बनाया जाता है।

• मास्टेक्टॉमी या स्तन कम करना
• अंडाशय और गर्भाशय को ओफोरेक्टॉमी और हिस्टेरेक्टॉमी के माध्यम से हटा दिया जाता है
• मेटोइडियोप्लास्टी, फैलोप्लास्टी और स्क्रोटोप्लास्टी के माध्यम से लिंग और अंडकोश का निर्माण।

सर्जरी (कट) के दौरान आपके सर्जन द्वारा एक या अधिक चीरे लगाए जा सकते हैं। हड्डियों या टिश्यू को काटा जा सकता है, शेव किया जा सकता है, री-अरेंज किया जा सकता है या हटाया जा सकता है। स्क्रू या प्लेट्स को इम्प्लांट किया जा सकता है।

प्रक्रिया के बाद

• प्रक्रिया के बाद आपकी नज़दीकी निगरानी के लिए आपको रिकवरी रूम में ले जाया जाता है
• जैसे-जैसे एनेस्थीसिया का असर खत्म होता है आप जाग जाते है
• आपके महत्वपूर्ण संकेतों, जैसे कि आपकी हृदय गति और ब्लड प्रेशर का आकलन किया जाता है और उन पर कड़ी निगरानी रखी जाती है।
• आपको रिकवरी रूम में एक से दो घंटे रखा जा सकता हैं
• फिर आपको एक रेगुलर कमरे में ले जाया जाता है। आप किस प्रकार के उपचार से गुजरे हैं और आप कितनी जल्दी ठीक हो जाते हैं, इस पर निर्भर करते हुए, आपका अस्पताल में रहने का समय अलग-अलग हो सकता है।
• उदाहरण के लिए, आपको कम से कम सर्जरी के बाद छह दिनों तक अस्पताल में रहना पड़ सकता हैं।

ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी की जटिलताएं - Transgender surgery ki jatiltayein

• मूत्राशय की समस्या
• परिवर्तित यौन क्रिया
• एनेस्थीसिया से एलर्जी
• पेशाब करने में कठिनाई
• निप्पल नेक्रोसिस

ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी की लागत - Transgender surgery ki laagat

आपके द्वारा चुनी गई प्रक्रिया और अस्पताल के प्रकार के आधार पर, भारत में लिंग परिवर्तन प्रक्रिया की लागत INR 2,00,000 से INR 7,00,000 तक हो सकती है। बहुत सी चीजें सर्जरी की लागत को प्रभावित कर सकती हैं। जैसे अस्पताल या क्लिनिक ब्रांड नाम, इलाज करने वाले सलाहकार की फीस, प्रवेश शुल्क, सर्जरी का प्रकार, सर्जरी के बाद की जटिलताएं जो शामिल हो सकती हैं, हॉस्पिटल का कमरा जो आप चुनते है, ये सब अस्पताल के बिलिंग खर्चों पर प्रभाव डाल सकते है।

बैंगलोर में ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी का खर्च 1,50,000 रुपये से 4,00,000 रुपये, दिल्ली में 1,00,000 रुपये से 5,00,000 रुपये, मुंबई में 1,50,000 रुपये से 3,50,000 रुपये तक हो सकता है, जबकि चेन्नई में यह 1,00,000 रुपये से 3,30,000 रुपये तक हो सकता है। और पुणे जैसे शहरों में यह 80,000 रुपये से 3,50,000 रुपये, कोलकाता में 1,20,000 रुपये से 3,00,000 रुपये और हैदराबाद में 1,00,000 रुपये से 3,50,000 रुपये तक हो सकता है।

प्रक्रिया की कुल लागत आपके द्वारा कराए गए नैदानिक ​​परीक्षणों की संख्या से भी प्रभावित हो सकती है। रोगी की बीमा योजना के आधार पर सर्जरी की पूरी लागत को कम किया जा सकता है।

ट्रांसजेंडर सर्जरी के नुकसान - Transgender surgery ke nuksaan

• फोड़े का गठन
• संवेदना का नुकसान
• मूत्र संबंधी जटिलताएं

निष्कर्ष - Conclusion

चेहरे, छाती या जननांग को बदलने वाले ऑपरेशन जेंडर रीअसाइनमेंट सर्जरी का हिस्सा हो सकते हैं। आप एक ही सर्जरी या कई अलग-अलग ऑपरेशन्स से गुजरने का फैसला कर सकते हैं। सर्जरी से पहले और बाद में मानसिक स्वास्थ्य पेशेवर की मदद लेना महत्वपूर्ण हो सकता है। शोध से पता चला है कि एक विश्वसनीय चिकित्सक से परामर्श करने से आपको अपने सर्जरी के परिणामों से संतुष्ट होने की अधिक संभावना होती है। प्रत्येक व्यक्ति को जोखिम, लाभ और विकल्पों पर अपने डॉक्टर और मनोचिकित्सक से चर्चा करनी चाहिए।

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• 10 Best Gender Change Hospitals In India in 2023

Embark on your journey of transformation with gender change hospitals in India. Discover compassionate care, experienced professionals, and supportive environments for your transition.

• Transgender Surgery

By Ipshita Ghoshal

20th Mar '23

Don't worry, we've got you covered! Our carefully curated list of the most suitable hospitals will make your task a breeze.  So, you can just focus on what really matters – your journey towards a fulfilling gender identity .

Best gender change hospitals in India

India is home to some of the most reputable hospitals for gender change surgeries and other gender change treatments . They offer a range of services and expertise at a fraction of the cost compared to many other countries. Many of these hospitals are equipped with top class facilities and skilled medical professionals  to provide safe and effective treatment.

Considering gender change hospitals in India can be a great option for you.  Hospitals in India quality care while also minimizing the financial burden of these procedures.

Apollo Hospital, Ahmedabad 

Apollo Hospitals in Ahmedabad is a state-of-the-art facility that offers comprehensive care across various specialties. Gender change surgery is one of them. The hospital boasts modern infrastructure and cutting-edge technology like 3D laparoscopy, advanced imaging systems, and robotic surgical platforms.

The hospital has a team of highly skilled medical professionals. They are dedicated to providing personalized treatment and care to their patients. They offer holistic support services like counseling and rehabilitation. This helps patients navigate the emotional and physical challenges of gender change surgery.

Apollo Hospitals in Ahmedabad has a dedicated Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS) and hormone blockers unit. It provides a range of gender affirming procedures like genital reconstruction surgery, breast augmentation, and facial feminization surgery .

This hospital has been serving patients for more than 30 years and saving lives of 42 million people coming from 120 countries across the world.

Your health is too important to ignore –  schedule your appointment now  

Apollo Hospitals, Chennai

Apollo hospital in Chennai is among the best gender change hospitals in India. They leverage cutting-edge medical technologies and have expert doctors for gender change surgery. 

This is an excellent choice for individuals seeking quality care and support on their journey towards a fulfilling gender identity.

The hospital is equipped with the latest technologies to assist the doctors in surgical procedures. They have technologies like Da-Vinci robotic surgery system, PET scanners and others.

There are more than  3000 doctors and 600 full time   consultants available in the hospital. 

Apollo Hospital in Chennai has a Gender Identity disorder (GID) Clinic. It offers a range of gender reassignment surgeries. The hospital has a success rate of over 90% in gender change surgeries. After the surgeries they also provide rehabilitation and counseling services to cope with the emotional changes. 

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai

  Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital is a leading Multi-speciality hospital in Mumbai. It offers world class facilities and utilizes the best technology. The hospital has 750 beds,180 ICU beds and 17 advanced operation theaters. The hospital has a team of over 2000 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and support staff.

It has a diagnostic center equipped with advanced imaging technologies like MRI, CT scan, PET-CT, and digital X-ray.

It also has a robotic surgery system, 3D laparoscopy and advanced radiation technology for treating cancer.

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital is one of the few hospitals in India that offers gender change surgeries. The hospital has a team of highly qualified and experienced doctors. They perform these surgeries with utmost care and precision. The hospital follows international standards and protocols for gender change surgeries . This ensures the safety and well-being of the patients.  

SL Raheja Fortis Hospital, Mumbai

SL Raheja Fortis Hospital  is one of the renowned Gender change hospitals in India. 

The hospital can accommodate 341 patients at a time and has 130 ICU beds. There are 12 advanced operation theaters.  An estimated 500 medical professionals work there including doctors and paramedical staff.

The hospital adheres to international standards while providing gender change services. The hospital has a patient centric approach and provides personalized care. This makes it a preferable option for gender change surgeries. 

Want to inquire about personalized treatment expenses? Don't hesitate.  Talk to us today .

Max Super speciality Hospital, Delhi

Max Super Speciality hospital   in Delhi is a leading healthcare provider. It provides various treatments like cardiology, oncology, neurology and others. It has a blood bank, pharmacy and 24 hours emergency services.

The hospital has 490 beds, with 210 ICU beds and 19 advanced operation theaters.

The hospital has a special team of doctors who are skilled at gender reassignment surgeries. The patients are also provided with post operative care services which include pain management, follow up and counseling.

The hospital follows international standards of treatment and is accredited by NAbH AND JCI.

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi

Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi is one of the leading healthcare facilities in India. It provides a wide range of services including gender change treatment as well. It provides surgical and non surgical treatment for changing gender. They provide surgeries like chest reconstruction surgery, facial feminization surgery like jaw feminization , and other related procedures.

The hospital has state of the art infrastructure and advanced medical technologies. Additionally the hospital also provides services like counseling, social work and legal assistance for the purpose of gender changing surgery. 

Manipal Hospital, Bangalore

  Manipal Hospital in Bangalore is among the best gender change hospital in India. It is known for offering a wide range of services and also gender reaffirming services. They have a specialized department for gender reassignment services. 

Established in the year 1991, it has a capacity of accommodating 600 people. There are more than 150 experienced doctors and surgeons specializing in various medical fields. 

Manipal hospital is  a good option to consider for gender affirming surgeries. They have specialized doctors dedicated to treat transgender patients. The hospital provides excellent patient care and post operative care to people.

Fortis Hospital, Bangalore

Fortis Hospital is one of the reputed hospitals known for providing gender change surgeries in India. It provides treatment in various medical specialities: cardiology, neurology, cancer and many more. 

The hospital has 276 beds and more than 150 experienced doctors for treating patients. The hospital is the recipient of various prestigious awards.  It has received awards like Asian patient safety award, AHPI Award, Healthcare and Social Care support award.

It operates according to international standards of treatment and is accredited to JCI and NABH.

Medica Super speciality Hospital, Kolkata 

Medica super speciality hospital   is one of the best gender change hospitals in India. The hospital has an accommodation capacity of 500 beds. There are more than 300 experienced doctors and surgeons experts in various specialities.

The hospital is equipped with technologies like 128-slice CT scanner, MRI machines and advanced imaging techniques. They also have robotic surgery systems. This enable surgeries with minimal incisions leading to lesser pain and faster recovery.

The hospital has accreditations from multiple bodies like NABH and JCI. There are specialized doctors who perform various gender change surgeries like mastectomy , facial feminization surgeries and more. 

Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Kolkata

If you are considering gender change surgeries, then  Apollo Gleneagles hospital might be a good option. There are experienced medical surgeons who ensure quality treatment and post operative care. 

The hospital has 700 bed capacity and with contemporary architecture. 

Apollo Gleneagles Hospital has advanced medical technologies. It has technologies like PET CT scanner, an MRI machine, and a range of diagnostic and imaging equipment.

Curious to know what factors you should consider while selecting a hospital for your gender change surgery?    Keep reading to find out!

What is the criteria for choosing gender change hospitals in India?

Gender affirming surgery is a very personal decision and can be life altering. Hence you must choose the gender change hospital very carefully. 

Here are some of things you should keep in mind while finalizing the best gender change hospital in India for yourself.

How can ClinicSpots help you in your medical treatment?  

ClinicSpots is an integrated medical platform connecting India’s best medical facilities and most efficient doctors with patients worldwide. We allow patients to search, compare and coordinate their medical treatments with trusted hospitals. Whether cancer, heart disease treatment, or gender reassignment surgery, we cater to patients in every niche. 

Here are the details of how ClinicSpots assist international patients in the following ways:

• Medical Counselling
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• Assistance with Payment, Currency Exchange & Insurance

Step 1. Medical Counselling

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Take charge of your health and your life.  Contact us today!

• What should I look for in a gender change hospital?

When choosing a gender change hospital, you should look for a facility that has experienced doctors, a supportive staff, a clean and safe environment, and a range of gender-affirming treatments and surgeries.

• Do gender change hospitals in India provide counseling and support services?

Yes, many gender change hospitals in India provide counseling and support services to help patients navigate their transition and manage any emotional or mental health issues that may arise.

• How much do gender-affirming surgeries cost in India?

The cost of gender-affirming surgeries in India can vary depending on the type of surgery, the hospital or clinic, and the surgeon's fees. On average, gender reassignment surgery can cost between Rs. 1.5 to 3 lakhs.

• Does insurance cover gender-affirming surgeries in India?

Currently, insurance companies in India do not cover gender-affirming surgeries. However, some hospitals and clinics may offer financing options or payment plans to make the surgeries more affordable.

• Is there a waiting list for gender-affirming surgeries in India?

Yes, there may be a waiting list for gender-affirming surgeries in India due to the high demand and limited number of experienced surgeons who can perform these surgeries.

• Are gender change hospitals in India safe?

Yes, gender change hospitals in India are safe and follow standard medical protocols to ensure the safety and well-being of their patients. It's important to choose a reputable hospital or clinic and to do your research before undergoing any surgeries or treatments.

• What types of gender-affirming surgeries are offered in India?

Gender-affirming surgeries offered in India include gender reassignment surgery (GRS), breast augmentation, chest reconstruction (for trans men), facial feminization surgery (FFS), and genital reconstruction surgery (for trans women).  

Relevant Blogs

Transgender Body Dysmorphia: Treatment Insights & Options

Empathetic support for transgender body dysmorphia. Therapy, understanding, and community aid self-acceptance.

Gender Reassignment Surgery Cost (MTF & FTM)

Explore the rising demand for gender reassignment surgery worldwide. Learn about the various procedures and their detailed costs in this comprehensive article.

Post-Op Transgender Genitalia: Recovery and Care

Explore post-operative care for transgender genitalia surgery. Learn about recovery, potential complications, and lifestyle adjustments for optimal healing and well-being.

List of 15 Best Transgender Surgeons in the World 2023

Explore top transgender surgeons globally. Access expertise, compassionate care, and personalized treatment for gender-affirming surgeries, ensuring optimal results and well-being.

Hormone Therapy for Transgender Youth: Comprehensive Care

Explore hormone therapy for transgender youth. Learn about its benefits, risks, and importance of comprehensive medical and mental health support for a safe and affirming transition journey.

Transgender Surgery In India: Navigating Transformation

Discover top-quality transgender surgery in India. Expert surgeons, compassionate care, and life-changing results await. Embrace your journey today.

Question and Answers

Can transgender women get pregnant?

Transgender women who have had hormonal treatment and/or surgery may notice a drop in sperm count and fertility as a side effect of the process. But this scenario, when became the case, is an exception. Effective relationships between transgender women who wish to have a baby and a reproductive endocrinologist or fertility specialist are of utmost importance as they will provide them with advice and the needed support.

Answered on 5th Apr '24

Dr. Vinod Vij

After sex change body Ex vometing

Female | 20

In case you are experiencing vomiting after a sex change surgery, please consider medical attention. This could be a symptom of the complication, like an infection or medication intolerance. It is advisable to see a gender reassignment surgeon or a doctor who has dealt with transgender patients in the past. Do not delay seeking medical care.  

Answered on 21st Feb '24

In ftm hrt, would the physical effects be noticeable? I have family that are very conservative and am just wondering whether they will be able to notice.

Indeed, the physical results of FTM HRT are visible but may differ depending on an individual. It is possible also to identify some physical changes such as a deepening voice, facial and body hair growths, and redistribution of the fatty mass. It is best to consult with a gender-affirming healthcare provider who specializes in trans healthcare

Answered on 29th Jan '24

Can a transgender male have a period?

Men who are transgenders assigned female at birth still possess uterus, and consequently continue to menstruate as normal. Hormone therapy commonly used in the gender transition brings about a significant decrease or cessation of menstrual bleeding. In order to get personalized advice regarding the management of menstrual health for those going through gender transition, a specialist in transgender medicine or endocrinology needs to be consulted.

Answered on 18th Jan '24

Female to male fmga operation cheyinchukuna valaki pillalu putte is there a possibility

FMGA surgery DOES NOT allow for biological pregnancy.. 

Answered on 13th Dec '23

Transgender Surgery Hospitals In Other Cities

Top related speciality doctors in other cities.

Transgender regret? Research challenges narratives about gender-affirming surgeries

Assistant Professor of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Johns Hopkins University

Assistant Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Johns Hopkins University

Disclosure statement

Harry Barbee has received funding from the National Institute on Aging for their past work.

Bashar Hassan and Fan Liang do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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You’ll often hear lawmakers , activists and pundits argue that many transgender people regret their decision to have gender-affirming surgeries – a belief that’s been fueling a wave of legislation that restricts access to gender-affirming health care.

Gender-affirming care can include surgical procedures such as facial reconstruction, chest or “top” surgery , and genital or “bottom” surgery .

But in an article we recently published in JAMA Surgery, we challenge the notion that transgender people often regret gender-affirming surgeries.

Evidence suggests that less than 1% of transgender people who undergo gender-affirming surgery report regret. That proportion is even more striking when compared to the fact that 14.4% of the broader population reports regret after similar surgeries.

For example, studies have found that between 5% and 14% of all women who receive mastectomies to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer say they regretted doing so. However, less than 1% of transgender men who receive the same procedure report regret.

These statistics are based on reviews of existing studies that investigated regret among 7,928 transgender individuals who received gender-affirming surgeries. Although some of this prior research has been criticized for overlooking the fact that regret can sometimes take years to develop, it aligns with the growing body of studies that show positive health outcomes among transgender people who receive gender-affirming care.

Why access to gender-affirming surgery matters

About 1.6 million people in the U.S. identify as transgender. While only about 25% of these individuals have obtained gender-affirming surgeries, these procedures have become more commonplace . From 2016 to 2020, roughly 48,000 trans people in the U.S. received gender-affirming surgeries.

These procedures provide transgender people with the opportunity to align their physical bodies with their gender identity, which could positively impact mental health. Research shows that access to gender-affirming surgeries may reduce levels of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation among transgender people.

The mental health benefits may explain the low levels of regret. Transgender people have far higher rates of mental health concerns than cisgender people, or people whose gender identity aligns with their sex at birth. This is largely because transgender people have a more difficult time living authentically without experiencing discrimination, harassment and violence .

Gender-affirming surgery often involves going through a number of hoops : waiting periods, hormone therapy and learning about the potential risks and benefits of the procedures. Although most surgeries are reserved for adults, the leading guidelines recommend that patients be at least 15 years old.

This thorough process that trans people go through before receiving surgery may also explain the lower levels of regret.

In addition, many cisgender people get surgeries that, in their ideal world, they wouldn’t receive. But they go through with the surgery in order to prevent a health problem.

For instance, a cisgender woman who receives a mastectomy to avoid breast cancer may ultimately regret the decision if she dislikes her new appearance. Meanwhile, a transgender man who receives the same procedure is more likely to be pleased with a masculine-looking chest.

Improving research and public policy

It’s important to note that this research is not conclusive. Views of surgeries can change over time , and patients can feel quite differently about their outcomes eight years after their surgery as opposed to one year after their surgery.

Nonetheless, the consensus among experts, including at the American Medical Association , is that gender-affirming surgery can improve transgender people’s health and should not be banned.

U.S. states such as Oklahoma and North Dakota have ignored this consensus and have restricted access to these procedures. In response, 12 states have designated themselves “ sanctuaries ” for gender-affirming care.

Although our statistics on surgical regret may change as researchers learn more, they are the best data that health care providers have. And public policies that are based on the best available evidence have the most potential to improve people’s lives.

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New Delhi: Transgender persons, who had to run from pillar to post for genital reconstruction surgeries, will soon be able to get the procedure done for free at state-run hospitals. They will also be provided accommodation and schooling by the government, according to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020.

The rules, which are expected to be notified soon, would make it mandatory for at least one government hospital in every state to provide gender affirming or sex reassignment surgeries (SRS).

SRS refers to a set of surgical procedures by which a transgender person’s genital organs are altered to give them bodies they feel more comfortable in.

Currently, these surgeries are exorbitantly priced and out of reach for many who want to opt for them. In the absence of legislation, not many government hospitals offered the option.

But now, under the newly drafted rules, the hospital would not only be required to perform the surgery free of cost, but also provide counselling and hormone replacement therapy to members of the transgender community, along with state medical insurance to cover the cost of the procedure, including counselling, in private hospitals.

Beyond the surgery, the rules also look at the other health issues of transgender persons, both at government and private hospitals. Under the legislation, transgender people would be provided accommodation and schooling, while gender non-conforming and intersex children will have the opportunity to join residential government schools and universities.

Also read: Struggling transgenders, HIV patients, sex workers approach govt for shelter & livelihoods

‘Suggestions incorporated’

The social justice ministry had issued a notification on 10 January, notifying the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, that was passed by Parliament on 26 November and received the President’s assent on 5 December 2019.

Following this, on 18 April, the government released the draft rules for the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, asking for suggestions to be sent by the deadline of 18 May.

A group of trans activists wrote to the ministry pointing out that due to the lockdown, they were not able to go out and interact with the community members and needed more time.

However, a senior ministry official said a number of suggestions were received, many of which have been incorporated in the final rules.

One of the major objections that the ministry had received was over the use of the word “enumerate”. “This has been deleted as many people had pointed out that they were concerned over misuse of the term ‘enumerate’, wherein many fear that a listing may be carried out and might become available to those who ask for it, affecting their identity protection,” said a second official.

Also read: Modi govt releasing draft rules on Transgender Persons Act in lockdown a blow to community

Other facilities promised

According to the revised rules, the suggested list of welfare schemes to be considered by the states also include “access to health”. Under this, states have to provide separate wards for transgender persons, medical insurance/Aarogyasri cards, counselling and assistance for other health issues.

Under access to education, scholarships are to be provided for transgender students. They will also be provided protection against ragging in educational institutions, with provisions for grievance redressal and facilitation of accommodation and schooling for transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex children in residential government schools and universities.

Similarly, states have to provide affordable housing, shelters and community centres that provide nutritious food and counselling for at-risk transgender youth.

Transgender persons also have to be given universal access to food security schemes and ration cards. “Pension for aged, disabled or other vulnerable transgender persons, old age and retirement homes for transgender persons facing housing exclusion and public transport to have harassment-free zones for transgender persons” are some of the other things the rules guarantee.

Under economic support, they have to be provided universal coverage of life insurance. “Explicit inclusion of transgender persons in employment guarantee schemes such as MGNREGA and all social security schemes. Formation into self-help groups for livelihood activities. Provisions of zero-interest and other micro-finance schemes” will also be provided.

Also read: For Chennai’s transgenders, buying milk has become a luxury they can’t afford in lockdown

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• Transgender
• Transgender Persons Act

26 COMMENTS

Please help me 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Mai sex cheng karvana chahta hu sir mera name susheel Yadav hai prayagraj u.p

I have change male convert to female Mujha free surgery karvani ha please help me I’m from Punjab

Iam gay from banglore i need free treat ment pls help me

Mein bhi apni surgery krwana chata hu m abhi ek male hu kaha hoge y surgery

I aslo need a help to ftm.

I can also want change gender,male to female Free cost

Hi I’m kajal from Delhi my age 45y I’m completely female jaisi m2f crossdresser last 23y i wear reguller female dress of all type indian dress i live with my boy friend parmanantly but i want my free sex change for m2f how to apply in free sex change hospltal in delhi plz any one help me

I am gay and I do not like to live this life, because of which I want to do my sexuality which is men to women, which will help me, you guys can love please tell me

I m male but I want to become a girl plz some one help me plz 🙏

Male to female operation

Ami male gender kintu ami sex change korate chai ; I means male to female operation korate chai

male to female surgery

Please some one help male to female surgery

I need a help for ftm surgery

I can also cheng may gender ,male to female

I Also Want Change Female to male is it free cost

Where are you from

I also change mtf

I also want male to female is it free of cost

Mel to femel sex change surgery

So this is where my tax money goes? Ridiculous!

As if u r the only one who plays tax 🤣…Are u from Ambani family?

Please can you let me know where the revised rules are available? I cannot seem to find them on the Ministry website.

Castrating gay men doesn’t make them women.

1. Trans are not gay men. 2. Women are not ovaries. 3. Trans women are women.

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Aiman a.k.a Aman

As a govt hospital starts an opd for sex reassignment surgery in mumbai, many born with gender dystrophy in india finally have an option. the indian express on a 7-year-old to one who is 28, seeking an end to a long struggle..

On the bumpy roads of Majalgaon village in Centra l Maharashtra ’s Beed district, as they spill out from their brick-and-tin-roof huts to play every evening, young boys often mock Aman, “Tu to ladki tha naa, ab ladke ke kapde kyun pehne hain (You were a girl, no, why are you wearing boy’s clothes now)?”

Aman tucks a thumb into the pocket of his jeans defiantly and refuses to answer. Sometimes he hits them and runs away. “We have taught him to call himself a boy, act like a boy,” says his mother Naadarjaan Shaikh, although she is as unsure what to say when curious neighbours ask the same questions.

Born as ‘Aiman’, meaning blessed in Arabic, Aman is 7, making him amongst the youngest in the state to have undergone genital reconstruction surgery. Come April, he will travel 400 km to Mumbai to have a third and final procedure to attach his urethra to his penis, at St George’s Hospital — arguably the first government hospital in the country to start a dedicated out patient department for sex reassignment procedures.

A sex change or gender reassignment operation can be complex, and costs around Rs 14-25 lakh in countries like the US or UK, with Thailand a hub. Private hospitals in India charge between Rs 6-10 lakh, with the lower rates in the country drawing patients from abroad in the last few years. St George’s, which runs under J J Group of Hospitals, charges Rs 60,000-70,000.

While there are no figures available for India for the condition known as gender dysphoria (being born with one gender but identifying with the opposite), that manifests itself first in childhood, globally one in every 30,000 boys and one in every one lakh girls have it. According to Global Market Insights, the sex assignment surgery market was $200 million in 2017 and is estimated to touch $968 million by 2024 globally.

Aiman was born to Saeed Shaikh (36), a truck driver, and Naadarjaan (30) on September 18, 2013, in Beed. With a daughter and son already, the couple were delighted at another girl. “Saeed called up all our relatives and informed them he had a daughter,” says grandmother Rukaiya Begum.

Despite his meagre earnings of Rs 10,000 a month, on which he supports a seven-member family, Saeed splurged on new frocks, and got Aiman’s ears and nose pierced. Rukaiya Begum says she would massage Aiman every morning, put kohl, dress her up.

Nothing seemed amiss until Aiman turned two. Then Naadarjaan noticed with concern that the child would keep scratching her genital parts. “We took her to a private doctor thinking it was allergy. He did an X-ray and said, ‘Yeh to ladka hai, ladki nahin (He is a boy, not a girl)’,” says Rukaiya.

Naadarjaan remembers crying for several days. “I thought who will marry my daughter.” Both Class 7 dropouts, Saeed and Naadarjaan feared Aiman was a transgender.

The doctors, in Beed and neigbouring Aurangabad whom the parents approached, were unanimous that Aiman was a boy. They explained that the child had a penis concealed under layers of skin and had no female genital organs. A surgery would be able to correct it, they said. “One day I got rid of all of Aiman’s frocks. I bought jeans, T-shirts. We named the child Aman,” Saeed says.

Eventually, the parents started dressing up Aman as a boy at home, and as a girl at family functions to avoid relatives’ comments.

Then, in 2017, Saeed read about a Beed police constable, Lalita Salve, who had become Lalit Kumar Salve after gender reassignment surgery. Lalit lived just 15 minutes away, and Saeed rushed to meet him. Lalit told him she had been born just like Aiman, with a buried penis, and about the procedure she was slated to undergo at St George’s Hospital.

It was after long chats with Lalit over a year that, in 2018, Saeed visited St George’s. The doctors asked him to arrange new documents identifying Aiman as Aman, and to start putting together money. Saeed says he worked extra time and borrowed from friends and relatives to finally get the operation done in mid-2019. The Shaikhs have spent Rs 1.5 lakh so far, mostly on travel and food.

The family says among their first challenges was to teach Aman how to urinate standing. Gradually, he picked up speaking in the male gender, before the second surgery six months ago. He was also prescribed male hormones as part of the change.

Aunt Yasmeen Khan smiles that since then, he has got more aggressive and picked up the habit of walking with thumbs tucked into pockets. “The doctors said this was the effect of the injections. His interest has shifted from dolls to football,” she adds.

Dr Rajat Kapoor, an assistant professor at the Plastic Surgery Department of J J Hospitals, recalls a staffer approaching him in 2016 about his relative from Beed with a “special problem”. The relative turned out to be Lalita Salve, a shy, diminutive 28-year-old constable with Beed police. “There was an unmistakable boyish charm about her,” recollects Dr Kapoor.

He also recollects Salve telling him that a growth she had had as a child in her pelvic area had resurfaced. A simple physical examination showed that this protruding knob was actually a penis. Dr Kapoor broke the news to Salve, adding that while “I could do a surgery so you can continue living like a woman, you are a man from inside”.

Salve broke down, and left. Sitting in his one-room quarters at Majalgaon Police Station, Salve, now Constable Lalit Kumar, sports a thin moustache and a hint of a beard. Born in Beed’s Rajegaon village, the second of three siblings, Salve grew up as a girl, shy of boys. When a growth was first noticed near her pelvic area, she was four, and the family got it removed, with a private doctor telling them it was a cyst.

As a teenager too, no one suspected anything, though Salve never started menstruating, and was not attracted to the opposite sex. With the topic taboo, the mother and daughter kept hoping that her periods were late.

In 2010, at age 22, Salve was recruited as a constable, and cut her hair short as she found the long length inconvenient. With her brothers unemployed, it fell upon her to support the family.

Then, in 2014, around the time when pressure grew on her to get married, Salve felt another outgrowth in her pelvic region. When she visited a private doctor, the latter said that what she thought was another cyst was in fact testes. Shocked, she stopped consulting doctors in Beed.

Two years later, persuaded by a relative, Salve finally travelled to Mumbai to meet Dr Kapoor. Armed with an X-ray he explained to her that showed she had no female organs, she recalls confiding in her mother, who eventually gathered the courage to tell her father.

Recalling her shock, Salve says, “Meine socha mein itne saal ladki banke jee hoon, samaaj kya kahega, mein duniya ko kaise face karoongi (I thought I have lived like a girl all these years, what will society say, how will I face the world)?”

While her family was supportive, Salve slipped into depression and contemplated suicide. By now, including due to the way she dressed, she had started getting mistaken for a man. “I realised if I remained a woman, it would be a constant battle,” Salve says, finally opting for genital reconstruction in 2017.

However, there was another problem. When Salve approached the Beed Superintendent of Police with an application to continue service as a male constable post surgery, she was told this could not be as service rules were different for the two genders. The media got a whiff of the news, and Salve took to hiding in farms, at relatives’ homes, to escape attention. What was meant to be a secret became open gossip, Salve says.

Finally, Devendra Fadnavis , the then Chief Minister, intervened on Salve’s behalf. He requested the home department to look into the case and, soon after, Salve got permission to continue in the police force.

In September 2018, Salve checked into St George’s Hospital, where Dr Kapoor had been transferred by then. In his 10 years at J J Hospital, Dr Kapoor had only once assisted in a sex change surgery. St George’s, a 467-bed hospital, had never had such a procedure.

Salve underwent an operation to construct a penis using skin from his thigh and pelvic area, followed by nearly a month in post-operative care. He recalls locking himself up in the bathroom, taking to meditation to get through the period. The eight family members who accompanied Salve slept in the corridors, unable to afford a hotel.

Months later, Salve had a second procedure and, after hormonal injections, got dumbbells to exercise and develop muscle.

With his case becoming well-known, Salve started getting calls from strangers seeking advice. One of them was Saeed. In Mumbai, Dr Kapoor too received endless queries. Dr Madhukar Gaikwad, Medical Superintendent, St George’s Hospital, says that given the interest, they decided to have a dedicated OPD for gender reassignment every Tuesday. “We realised there are many people who would benefit if a government hospital provided such a facility,” Dr Gaikwad says.

Dean Dr Pallavi Saple says that until then the hospital used to conduct simple procedures like vaginoplasty to tighten the vagina, and genital surgeries for medical conditions. “Now we have a full-fledged service for people who want to change their gender. If the numbers keep increasing, we will create a separate department for it,” she says.

Since 2018, 18 people have approached the hospital for sex reassignment, and procedure for five has started after paperwork, which can be long-drawn, and counselling.

The Indian Professional Association for Transgender Healthcare is now in the process of formulating guidelines for such procedures in the country in the absence of a law. Dr Richie Gupta, the president of the association, says rough estimates suggest about 300-350 sex reassignment surgeries are conducted in the country every year. Of them, Gupta’s team conducts a significant 100-150 in Delhi . “In 2019, we approached the Delhi government to set up a board of experts for approving such procedures. The plan is yet to move forward,” Dr Gupta says.

The doctor adds that Aman’s case falls in a grey area. In April 2019, the Madras High Court had asked the Tamil Nadu government to issue an order banning sex reassignment surgeries on intersex infants and children, prompted more by the plight of transgender children than children with genital defects. “The court order can be interpreted differently. And there is no law yet on sex reassignment surgeries for children,” he says.

Among the few states to have some guidelines is Karnataka , which approved a State Policy for Transgenders in 2017, suggesting free sex reassignment surgeries. However, very few hospitals, such as Bengaluru’s Victoria and M S Ramaiah, offer them, and the policy is only for transgenders.

Dr Maithili Unmate, Associate Professor at J J Hospitals, says that the first thing they do when approached for a gender reassignment surgery is assess a patient’s psychological state. “It is life-changing and they need to be sure of what they want,” says Dr Unmate. Multiple sessions are also held with family members, especially if they are against the procedure. “We hand-hold the patients as they reveal their condition to their family.”

Studies abroad have shown many of those who undergo the operation come to regret it later. It could be due to poor outcome of a surgery, as well as lack of preparedness to deal with changed gender. Dr Miroslav Djordevic, Professor of Urology at the University of Belgrade, Serbia, documented seven male-to-female cases who underwent reversal surgery between 2010 and 2014, in Journal of Sexual Medicine. While the study found them healthy after re-implanting a penis, Djordevic suggested this showed there was need for strong counselling of people with gender identity disorders.

Speaking to The Sunday Express, Dr Djordjevic said that at present, they had a list of 40 such candidates for reversal surgery. Pointing out that such operations are complicated, he says, “The main problem is how to find enough material, tissues for reconstruction of original genital organs. We have had patients who want their male genitalia back… but the new genitalia are not functionally and aesthetically like the original.”

Dr Djordjevic recommends psychiatric counselling for minimum one year.

Dr Shubhangi Parkar, Head of Psychiatry at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, says she recommends that patients try living like the opposite gender for several days before the surgery. “I had a woman who became a man and regretted it three-and-a-half years later. The reason was breakup with a partner,” she says, adding it took a lot of effort to get the patient to drop plans for a reverse procedure.

While 60 per cent of global sex change surgeries are male to female, India sees more female to male surgeries, including at St George’s. Dr Kapoor says the reason could be India’s patriarchal society, though Dr Unmate points out that no research has been conducted to confirm this.

A woman-to-man surgery, in fact, is more challenging and costly. It involves excising of breast tissues and excess skin, repositioning of nipples, removal of ovaries, uterus, and vagina, injection of Androgens hormone to get facial hair and baritone, and creation of a scrotum using, normally, thigh muscles and skin. The trickiest part is phalloplasty or penis implant, in which skin and tissue grafting is done from thigh, pelvic area or arms.

To ensure the recreated penis can have an erection, an implant is placed. It could be a button-like device near the groin which can be pressed to inflate the penis and later to deflate it. Says Dr Kapoor, “While the surgery can ensure erection and normal intercourse, we can’t still ensure sperms.”

In case of a male-to-female procedure, penis, scrotum and testes are removed, and the tip of penis restructured to resemble a clitoris. “A cavity is created at the root of the penis to form a vagina, and the excess skin of the penis used for vaginal lining. The nerve bundles at the tip of the penis are restructured near the clitoris,” says Dr Nitin Ghag, head of the Plastic Surgery Department at Dr R N Cooper Medical College. Noting that the cost of a procedure depends on the surgery hours, he adds, “If a person wants a penis but no erection, the cost is less.”

Indore-based Kabeer Gawlani, who became a male in 2015, says doctors told him at the time to put out two newspaper advertisements before changing his sex. Now, two independent psychiatrists’ certificate is permissible for an operation. “I was planning to travel to Thailand for penile reconstruction, but decided to do it in India,” he says.

Rita Devi, 34, a rice farmer from Assam’s Hojai district, is among those in the waiting list at St George’s. A friend told her a year ago about the hospital that provided affordable surgery. The two of them took a train, travelling four days and three nights to Mumbai.

Rita, who underwent breast removal in June 2019, says she is yet to come out to fellow villagers. “My family is also scared. But I felt suffocated, I wanted to become a man.”

This month, her genital organs will be removed, followed by a penile implant. After that, she says, she will be known as Rit Kumar Singh.

There are 17 others in the queue at the hospital, including a wholesale dealer from Turki town in Bihar, Krishna Kumar, 27, earlier Usha Kumari. Having got breasts and genital organs removed for Rs 3.5 lakh at a private hospital, Krishna decided to come to St George’s Hospital.

Krishna says he was never in doubt, having always wanted to be a boy, and enjoying the full support of his mother. Sporting a small growth of facial hair now, he, however, worries about the money he owes to friends and relatives.

For a long while, he also worried about marriage. Then, earlier this month, he had a chat with Lalit Kumar on the phone.

On February 16 this year, Lalit got married to Seema, 22, a third-year BCom student. Seema says she knows all about him, even has clippings of the news items on him, and researched about genital reconstruction before tying the knot. “He is a complete man” for her.

Lalit, who laughs that he can now remove his shirt in public, recalls another memory, of returning to the village after the first surgery. “My father was waiting for me. We hugged. That was the first time I hugged him.”

Villagers now call Lalit ‘dada’, while the Constable has been given the ‘Shakti Pathak’ post in the Beed police to help women victims of eveteasing.

The parents of Aman hope he will be an inspiration too, insisting he be identified and his case known. Oblivious to all this, the seven-year-old is restless to get on with his football. And to return to the Gateway of India in Mumbai — “woh bageecha CST ke paas (that garden near the CST Station)”.

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Gender Reassignment Surgery Cost

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Gender Reassignment Surgery Cost Estimation

How much Gender Reassignment Surgery Surgery cost ?

Gender Reassignment Surgery cost in India starts from ₹ 2,00,000 . Usually, the cost of Gender Reassignment Surgery is different in various hospitals and centres depending upon multiple factors. The average cost of Gender Reassignment Surgery is ₹ 5,00,000 while the price range can reach ₹ 6,00,000 .

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Gender Reassignment Surgery Cost Overview

Why does gender reassignment surgery cost vary .

Gender Reassignment Surgery cost is directly influenced by several aspects . Check the important factors which impact the overall price of Gender Reassignment Surgery .

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How much does a gender reassignment surgery cost.

Gender Reassignment Surgery costs between Rs. 200000 to Rs. 600000 with an average cost being Rs. 400000.

What is the minimum price of Gender Reassignment Surgery?

The price of Gender Reassignment Surgery varies depending on a number of factors, with the lowest cost being Rs. 200000.

What is the average cost of Gender Reassignment Surgery?

Gender Reassignment Surgery may cost around Rs. 400000 on average.

What is the maximum price of Gender Reassignment Surgery?

Depending on a variety of factors, the maximum price of Gender Reassignment Surgery is Rs. 600000.

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Is it common for transgender people to regret gender-affirmation surgery?

Reviewed by the medical professionals of the ISSM’s Communication Committee

Research suggests that very few transgender people who undergo gender-affirmation surgery regret their decision. 

Gender-affirmation surgery is one approach to help individuals with gender dysphoria transition from their sex assigned at birth to the gender they identify with. 

For example, a person undergoing transmasculine surgery (female-to-male) may have breasts removed and male genitalia created. (Learn more: What is phalloplasty? )

During transfeminine surgery (male to female), female characteristics and genitalia are created. 

Usually, gender-affirmation surgery is a process over time. Not all procedures are completed at once, nor do all people choose to undergo all procedures.

Before surgery, transgender individuals often live as their desired gender and undergo cross-sex hormone therapy to develop characteristics of their desired gender (such as breasts or facial hair).

Experts estimate that about 1% of transgender individuals regret having gender-affirmation surgery. 

In 2021, the journal Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open published a review of 27 studies concerning regret after gender-affirmation surgery. Overall, the studies included 7,928 transgender participants who had undergone any type of gender-affirmation surgery. About a third of the study subjects underwent transmasculine surgeries; the remaining two-thirds had transfeminine procedures. 

In the transmasculine group, less than 1% regretted their decision. In the transfeminine group, the rate was 1%. 

Some people who regretted their decision had difficulty living as their desired gender or being accepted in their new role. Others were dissatisfied with the results of their surgery. Their bodily appearance or physical sensations were not what they expected, or they had trouble adapting psychologically. 

Research also suggests that transgender individuals have positive mental health outcomes after having gender-affirmation surgery. 

In a 2021 JAMA Surgery study, researchers discussed results of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, which included over 27,000 transgender participants. Among these respondents, 3,559 people said they had had at least one type of gender-affirming surgery within 2 years of completing the survey. Their answers were compared to those of another subgroup who wanted to have surgery, but had not yet done so. 

The research team found that people who had had at least 1 gender-affirming procedure were less likely to report psychological distress during the previous month. They were also less likely to smoke or consider suicide during the previous year.

Learn more about transgender health: 

What is the informed consent model of transgender care?

What is phalloplasty?

Can transgender women have orgasms after gender-reassignment surgery?

What is gender reassignment surgery.

What is cross-sex hormone therapy?

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When is it permissible to do a sex-change operation from male to female or vice versa?

Publication : 04-12-2014

Views : 146692

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly: 

It is not possible for anyone, no matter who he is, to change the creation of Allah, may He be exalted, from male to female or vice versa. Whoever Allah, may He be exalted, has created as a male can never become a female who menstruates and gives birth! 

Yes, the doctors may tamper with him to satisfy his perversion so that he will think that he has become a woman, but he will never be truly female and will live in a state of anxiety and worry, which may lead him to commit suicide. 

Secondly: 

What a person may feel in his mind and heart, that he is of a gender other than what he appears to be to us does not give him an excuse to change his gender; rather it comes under the heading of following the Shaytaan in changing the creation of Allah – outwardly but not truly – and those feelings do not make it permissible for him to undergo surgery or take medicines and hormones to change his outward appearance. Rather he must be content with the decree of Allah, may He be exalted, and treat his case on the basis of faith and obedience to Allah. It is not permissible for him to make himself appear outwardly to be of a gender other than his real gender with which Allah created him, otherwise he will be committing a major sin; if this person is really female then she will be masculinised and if he is really male then he will be effeminate. 

Please see also the answers to questions no. 21277 and 34553  

The surgery that is permissible in such cases is if a person was originally created male or female, but his genital organs are hidden. In that case it is permissible to do surgery in order to make those organs appear, and to give him or her medicine or hormones to strengthen the characteristics with which Allah originally created him or her. 

But in the case of one who was created with both female and male genitalia – this is what is called ambiguous intersex – it is not permissible to be hasty in removing one and making the other more apparent. Rather we should wait until it is known what Allah, may He be exalted, will decree for this individual, which may become apparent after some time has passed. 

For a more detailed discussion on intersex please see the answer to question no. 114670  

There follows a detailed fatwa from the scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas, who were asked about a case similar to what is mentioned in the question. They replied: 

Firstly: Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female (offspring) upon whom He wills, and bestows male (offspring) upon whom He wills. Or He bestows both males and females, and He renders barren whom He wills. Verily, He is the All-Knower and is Able to do all things” [ash-Shoora 42:49].  So the Muslim must accept and be content with whatever Allah creates and decrees. 

In your case, if you are as you mentioned, that you are certain of your masculinity and that you can play the male role efficiently, even if you have not actually engaged in any sexual activity with any person, then you must preserve your masculinity and accept that which Allah has granted to you of virtue and a favourable situation. . 

Secondly: once your masculinity is proven and established, then having surgery to turn into a female – as you think – is changing the creation of Allah, and is an expression of discontent on your part with what Allah has chosen for you, even if we assume that the surgery is going to be successful and lead to what you want of becoming female. But there is no way that it can be successful, for both males and females have their own, distinct faculties and physical makeup, the development and characteristics of which are decreed only by Allah, may He be exalted, and are not just the penis of the male or the vaginal opening of the female. Rather the man has a complete, integrated system comprising the testicles and other organs, each of which has a special function and characteristics, and produces specific secretions and so on. Likewise the woman has a uterus and other connected parts that work in harmony with it, and each part has its own function and characteristics, and produces specific secretions and so on. Among all of them there are connections and harmony over which none of His creation have any power of estimation, creation, control, management or preservation. Rather all of that is under the control of Allah, the All-Knowing, Most Wise, Most High, Almighty, Most Kind and All-Aware. 

Therefore the surgery that you want to do is a kind of tampering and striving for something in which there is no benefit. In fact it may be dangerous; if it does not lead to death, then at the very least it will lead to taking away that which Allah has given you without you attaining what you want, and you will still be affected by what you have mentioned of psychological problems that you want to get rid of by means of this surgery that is bound to fail. 

Thirdly: if your masculinity is not established, and you only think that you are a man because of what you see in your body of outward masculine appearance, in contrast to what you feel in yourself of having feminine characteristics and an inclination towards males and being sexually attracted to them, then you should examine your situation and not go ahead with the surgery that you have mentioned. You should consult experienced specialist doctors. If they determine that you are male in outward appearance but are in fact female, then you may submit yourself to their treatment, so that they can bring out your femininity by doing surgery. But that will not in fact be a sex change from male to female, because this will not be up to them; rather it will be bringing out your true nature and removing what is in your body, and what you feel deep inside you of confusion and ambiguity. But if nothing is clear to the experts, then do not take the risk of undergoing this surgery; be content with the decree of Allah and be patient with what has befallen you, seeking to please your Lord and protecting yourself against the possible consequences of doing an operation without guidance and insight concerning your condition. Turn to Allah and beseech Him to relieve you of what you are facing, and to heal you from your psychological problems, for control of all things is in His hand, may He be glorified, and He is able to do all things. End quote. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Qa‘ood, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan 

Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (25/45-49) 

And Allah knows best.

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Vatican denounces gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity

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The Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity , putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that reject God’s plan for human life.

The Vatican’s doctrine office issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five years. After substantial revision in recent months, it was approved March 25 by Pope Francis, who ordered its publication.

In its most eagerly anticipated section, the Vatican repeated its rejection of “gender theory,” or the idea that one’s gender can be changed. It said God created man and woman as biologically different, separate beings, and said people must not tinker with that plan or try to “make oneself God.”

“It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception,” the document said.

It distinguished between gender-affirming surgeries, which it rejected, and “genital abnormalities” that are present at birth or that develop later. Those abnormalities can be “resolved” with the help of health care professionals, it said.

Advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics immediately criticized the document as outdated, harmful and contrary to the stated goal of recognizing the “infinite dignity” of all of God’s children. They warned it could have real-world effects on trans people, fueling anti-trans violence and discrimination.

“While it lays out a wonderful rationale for why each human being, regardless of condition in life, must be respected, honored, and loved, it does not apply this principle to gender-diverse people,” said Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics.

The document’s existence, rumored since 2019, was confirmed in recent weeks by the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, a close Francis confidant.

He had cast it as something of a nod to conservatives after he authored a more explosive document approving blessings for same-sex couples that sparked criticism from conservative bishops around the world, especially in Africa.

And yet, the document takes pointed aim at countries — including many in Africa — that criminalize homosexuality. It echoed Francis’ assertion in a 2023 interview with the Associated Press that “being homosexual is not a crime,” making the assertion now part of the Vatican’s doctrinal teaching.

The new document denounces “as contrary to human dignity the fact that, in some places, not a few people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation.”

The document is something of a repackaging of previously articulated Vatican positions, read now through the prism of human dignity. It restates well-known Catholic doctrine opposing abortion and euthanasia, and adds to the list some of Francis’ main concerns as pope: the threats to human dignity posed by poverty, war, human trafficking and forced migration.

In a newly articulated position, it says surrogacy violates both the dignity of the surrogate mother and the child .

While much attention about surrogacy has focused on possible exploitation of poor women as surrogates, the Vatican document asserts that the child “has the right to have a fully human (and not artificially induced) origin and to receive the gift of a life that manifests both the dignity of the giver and that of the receiver.”

“Considering this, the legitimate desire to have a child cannot be transformed into a ‘right to a child’ that fails to respect the dignity of that child as the recipient of the gift of life.”

The Vatican had previously published its most articulated position on gender in 2019, when the Congregation for Catholic Education rejected the idea that people can choose or change their genders and insisted on the complementarity of biologically male and female sex organs to create new life.

The new document from the more authoritative Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith quotes from that 2019 education document but tempers the tone. Significantly, it doesn’t repeat the 1986 language of a previous doctrinal document that said homosexual people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect but that homosexual actions are “intrinsically disordered.”

In a news conference to introduce the document, Fernandez acknowledged that the “intrinsically disordered” language was very strong and that there might be a better way, “with other words,” to express the church’s vision of sex as being a perfect union between husband and wife to create new life.

“It’s true, the expression could find other words to express this mystery,” he said.

The Rev. James Martin, who has called for the Catholic Church to extend greater outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, said the gender terminology was similar to that in past declarations. But he welcomed the condemnation of legislation and violence against LGBTQ+ people.

“That cannot be repeated too often as an offense against human dignity. The LGBTQ person, like everyone else, has infinite dignity,” he said in an email.

Francis has made reaching out to LGBTQ+ people a hallmark of his papacy, ministering to trans Catholics and insisting that the Catholic Church must welcome all children of God.

But he has also denounced “gender theory” as the “worst danger” facing humanity today, an “ugly ideology” that threatens to cancel out God-given differences between man and woman. He has blasted in particular what he calls the “ideological colonization” of the West in the developing world, where development aid is sometimes conditioned on adopting Western ideas about gender and reproductive health.

Transgender activists immediately called the document “hurtful” and devoid of the voices and experiences of real trans people, especially in its distinction between transgender people and intersex people.

“The suggestion that gender-affirming health care — which has saved the lives of so many wonderful trans people and enabled them to live in harmony with their bodies, their communities and (God) — might risk or diminish trans people’s dignity is not only hurtful but dangerously ignorant,” said Mara Klein, a nonbinary, transgender activist who has participated in Germany’s church reform project.

“Seeing that, in contrast, surgical interventions on intersex people — which if performed without consent especially on minors often cause immense physical and psychological harm for many intersex people to date — are assessed positively just seems to expose the underlying hypocrisy further,” Klein said.

The document comes at a time of some backlash against transgender people, including in the United States where Republican-led state legislatures are considering a new round of bills restricting medical care for transgender youths — and in some cases, adults. In addition, bills to govern youths’ pronouns, sports teams and bathrooms at school are also under consideration, as well as some books and school curriculums.

“On top of the rising hostility towards our communities, we are faced with a church that does not listen and refuses to see the beauty of creation that can be found in our biographies,” Klein said in an email.

Winfield writes for the Associated Press.

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Vatican Document Casts Gender Change and Fluidity as Threat to Human Dignity

The statement is likely to be embraced by conservatives and stir consternation among L.G.B.T.Q. advocates who fear it will be used as a cudgel against transgender people.

By Jason Horowitz and Elisabetta Povoledo

Reporting from Rome

The Vatican on Monday issued a new document approved by Pope Francis stating that the church believes that gender fluidity and transition surgery, as well as surrogacy, amount to affronts to human dignity.

The sex a person is assigned at birth, the document argued, was an “irrevocable gift” from God and “any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.” People who desire “a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes,” risk succumbing “to the age-old temptation to make oneself God.”

Regarding surrogacy, the document unequivocally stated the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition, whether the woman carrying a baby “is coerced into it or chooses to subject herself to it freely.” Surrogacy makes the child “a mere means subservient to the arbitrary gain or desire of others,” the Vatican said in the document, which also opposed in vitro fertilization.

The document was intended as a broad statement of the church’s view on human dignity, including the exploitation of the poor, migrants, women and vulnerable people. The Vatican acknowledged that it was touching on difficult issues, but said that in a time of great tumult, it was essential, and it hoped beneficial, for the church to restate its teachings on the centrality of human dignity.

Even if the church’s teachings on culture war issues that Francis has largely avoided are not necessarily new, their consolidation now was likely to be embraced by conservatives for their hard line against liberal ideas on gender and surrogacy.

The document, five years in the making, immediately generated deep consternation among advocates for L.G.B.T.Q. rights in the church, who fear it will be used against transgender people. That was so, they said, even as the document warned of “unjust discrimination” in countries where transgender people are imprisoned or face aggression, violence and sometimes death.

“The Vatican is again supporting and propagating ideas that lead to real physical harm to transgender, nonbinary and other L.G.B.T.Q.+ people,” said Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based group that advocates for gay Catholics, adding that the Vatican’s defense of human dignity excluded “the segment of the human population who are transgender, nonbinary or gender nonconforming.”

He said it presented an outdated theology based on physical appearance alone and was blind to “the growing reality that a person’s gender includes the psychological, social and spiritual aspects naturally present in their lives.”

The document, he said, showed a “stunning lack of awareness of the actual lives of transgender and nonbinary people.” Its authors ignored the transgender people who shared their experiences with the church, Mr. DeBernardo said, “cavalierly,” and incorrectly, dismissing them as a purely Western phenomenon.

Though the document is a clear setback for L.G.B.T.Q. people and their supporters, the Vatican took pains to strike a balance between protecting personal human dignity and clearly stating church teaching, a tightrope Francis has tried to walk in his more than 11 years as pope.

Francis has made it a hallmark of his papacy to meet with gay and transgender Catholics and has made it his mission to broadcast a message for a more open, and less judgmental, church. Just months ago, Francis upset more conservative corners of his church by explicitly allowing L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics to receive blessings from priests and by allowing transgender people to be baptized and act as godparents .

But he has refused to budge on the church rules and doctrine that many gay and transgender Catholics feel have alienated them, revealing the limits of his push for inclusivity.

“In terms of pastoral consequences,” Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who leads the Vatican’s office on doctrine, said in a news conference Monday, “the principle of welcoming all is clear in the words of Pope Francis.”

Francis, he said, has repeatedly said that “all, all, all” must be welcomed. “Even those who don’t agree with what the church teaches and who make different choices from those that the church says in its doctrine, must be welcomed,” he said, including “those who think differently on these themes of sexuality.”

But Francis’ words were one thing, and church doctrine another, Cardinal Fernández made clear, drawing a distinction between the document, which he said was of high doctrinal importance, as opposed to the recent statement allowing blessings for same-sex Catholics. The church teaches that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”

In an echo of the tension between the substance of church law and Francis’ style of a papal inclusivity, Cardinal Fernández said on Monday that perhaps the “intrinsically disordered” language should be modified to better reflect that the church’s message that homosexual acts could not produce life.

“It’s a very strong expression and it requires explanation,” he said. “Maybe we could find an expression that is even clearer to understand what we want to say.”

Though receptive to gay and transgender followers, the pope has also consistently expressed concern about what he calls “ideological colonization,” the notion that wealthy nations arrogantly impose views — whether on gender or surrogacy — on people and religious traditions that do not necessarily agree with them. The document said “gender theory plays a central role” in that vision and that its “scientific coherence is the subject of considerable debate among experts.”

Using “on the one hand” and “on the other hand,” language, the Vatican’s office on teaching and doctrine wrote that “it should be denounced as contrary to human dignity the fact that, in some places, not a few people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation.”

“At the same time,” it continued, “the church highlights the definite critical issues present in gender theory.”

On Monday, Cardinal Fernández also struggled to reconcile the two seemingly dissonant views.

“I am shocked having read a text from some Catholics who said, ‘Bless this military government of our country that created these laws against homosexuals,’” Cardinal Fernández said on Monday. “I wanted to die reading that.”

But he went on to say that the Vatican document was itself not a call for decriminalization, but an affirmation of what the church believed. “We shall see the consequences,” he said, adding that the church would then see how to respond.

In his presentation, Cardinal Fernández described the long process of the drafting of a document on human dignity, “Infinite Dignity,” which began in March 2019, to take into account the “latest developments on the subject in academia and the ambivalent ways in which the concept is understood today.”

In 2023, Francis sent the document back with instructions to “highlight topics closely connected to the theme of dignity, such as poverty, the situation of migrants, violence against women, human trafficking, war, and other themes.” Francis signed off on the document on March 25.

The long road, Cardinal Fernández wrote, “reflects the gravity” of the process.

In the document, the Vatican embraced the “clear progress in understanding human dignity,” pointing to the “desire to eradicate racism, slavery, and the marginalization of women, children, the sick, and people with disabilities.”

But it said the church also sees “grave violations of that dignity,” including abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, polygamy, torture, the exploitation of the poor and migrants, human trafficking and sex abuse, violence against women, capitalism’s inequality and terrorism.

The document expressed concern that eliminating sexual differences would undercut the family, and that a response “to what are at times understandable aspirations,” will become an absolute truth and ideology, and change how children are raised.

The document argued that changing sex put individualism before nature and that human dignity as a subject was often hijacked to “justify an arbitrary proliferation of new rights,” as if “the ability to express and realize every individual preference or subjective desire should be guaranteed.”

Cardinal Fernández on Monday said that a couple desperate to have a child should turn to adoption, rather than surrogacy or in vitro fertilization because those practices, he said, eroded human dignity writ large.

Individualistic thinking, the document argues, subjugates the universality of dignity to individual standards, concerned with “psycho-physical well-being” or “individual arbitrariness or social recognition.” By making dignity subjective, the Vatican argues, it becomes subject to “arbitrariness and power interests.”

Jason Horowitz is the Rome bureau chief for The Times, covering Italy, the Vatican, Greece and other parts of Southern Europe. More about Jason Horowitz

Elisabetta Povoledo is a reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and the culture of the region. She has been a journalist for 35 years. More about Elisabetta Povoledo

Vatican says ‘sex-change intervention’ risks threatening human dignity

VATICAN CITY — A highly anticipated Vatican document released Monday offered something of an olive branch to church conservatives, after a series of liberal declarations by Pope Francis. The new treatise denounced attempts to obscure the “sexual difference between man and woman” and stated that “any sex-change intervention” is a risk to human dignity.

But the Vatican stood by the more inclusive measures Francis has promoted, and the rollout of the new document offered a rare window into the frustrations his inner circle is feeling toward his traditionalist critics.

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez — Francis’s new right-hand man and a fellow Argentine who heads the powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith — omitted any mention of document’s “sex-change intervention” passage from his opening remarks and then appeared to take aim at the pope’s critics in an unusually candid news conference.

Fernandez used the moment to deliver a staunch defense of Francis’s open-door stance, especially the December decision he penned with the pope’s backing to allow blessings of same-sex couples . That policy was widely criticized by traditionalists, including senior clerics in Africa and Eastern Europe. But Catholics, Fernandez said, should not be picking and choosing which parts of Francis’s teachings to follow. The 61-year-old cardinal specifically called out an unnamed Catholic group that he said had backed an unspecified government’s harsh new legal measures against homosexuality.

Asked directly for the Catholic Church’s position on anti-gay laws, he retorted: “Of course we are in favor of decriminalization.”

At one point, Fernandez also sought to counter the traditionalist view that a sitting pope should not contradict his predecessors. He noted that in 15th Century, Pope Nicholas V had explicitly offered permission to the king of Portugal to enslave pagans — a position contradicted 80 years later by Pope Paul III.

“It seems like Pope Francis cannot say or think different from what was said before,” Fernandez said, referring to the view of the pontiff’s adversaries.

The 23-page document released Monday, titled “Dignitas infinita,” Latin for infinite dignity, amounted to a sweeping pronouncement on the human condition marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights issued by the United Nations. Fernandez mentioned that an earlier draft — begun when traditionalists were leading his office — had been rejected by a consulting committee, and Francis subsequently requested greater focus on subjects “closely connected to the theme of dignity” that have been central to his papacy, including the ills of poverty and the plight of migrants.

But the briefer sections on gender theory and gender-affirming care still came under the most scrutiny on Monday.

In recent months, Francis, in conjunction with Fernandez, affirmed that transgender people can be baptized and serve as godparents and approved the blessings of same-sex and other unmarried couples . Francis also told a young transgender Italian last year that “the Lord loves us as we are,” and he has warmly received transgender people in papal audiences.

Those gestures and others have stoked a powerful conservative backlash, prompting criticism of Francis in often remarkably harsh terms . Leading clerics in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia have rejected the guidance on blessings for same-sex couples, despite the explicit Vatican caveats that such benedictions do not and should not bear any similarity to the sacrament of marriage.

The new document, approved by the pope March 25, does not undo those measures or fundamentally change Francis’s inclusive stance. It asserts, for instance, that the Catholic Church “wishes, first of all, to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while every sign of unjust discrimination is to be carefully avoided.”

But it does add context. It separates the need to minister to transgender people from the act of obtaining gender-affirming surgery. It cites Francis as saying that “creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift. At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.”

The document concludes that means “any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.” The church, however, saw nothing wrong with “people born with genital abnormalities” seeking medical treatment.

Asked about the apparent contradiction between pastoral reception of transgender people, and the condemnation of the gender affirming procedures, Fernandez did not provide a clear answer. He seemed to suggest that the document strove to call out a “trend” of not viewing sex at birth as a gift from God. He suggested, however, that there would be no change in LGBTQ+ outreach. “The principle of reception of everyone is evident from the words of Pope Francis,” he said.

The document is critical of “gender theory,” or the notion that gender identities exist along a spectrum and can involve individual choice. In the past, Francis has sharply denounced the idea, even comparing it to nuclear weapons in 2015 .

The Vatican document Monday doubled down on that opposition, saying gender theory “intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.”

The document also exalts heterosexuality: “In the male-female couple, this difference achieves the most marvelous of reciprocities. It thus becomes the source of that miracle that never ceases to surprise us: the arrival of new human beings in the world.”

Some church conservatives hailed the document, focusing on the passages on gender rather than the critical rollout.

“As far as I’m concerned, after 11 years of [Francis’s] papacy, this is the first document that I would quote from and make use of, as I do with Benedict VI and John Paul II,” said Roberto de Mattei, president of the conservative Catholic Lepanto Foundation. “Yes, he’s said these things before, but … not as strong.”

Catholic clerics ministering to the trans community, however, expressed private dismay at the statement on “sex-change intervention.” Some activists argued that Fernandez’s office was seeking to “appease” the pope’s conservative critics.

“The traditionalists were unhappy with the [gay] blessings, so the church appeases them in this way,” said Innocenzo Pontillo, a gay Catholic activist in Florence who is in a same-sex union. “The church is still stuttering on these topics. … That’s the idiosyncrasy in Francis’s church: His pastoral approach leads to reception, but then you read stuff like this and just feel ashamed.”

Other observers said its cautiously worded phrasing might blunt the impact. The section on gender theory raised more alarm.

“The way in which gender theory is addressed is self-referential and quite hasty, and does not convey the complexity of the theory,” said Andrea Grillo, professor of sacramental theology at the Anselmianum, a pontifical university in Rome.

The Vatican further reiterated Francis’s opposition to surrogate pregnancies , contending the practice violates the dignity of women and turns a child into a “mere object.” The document warned against the increasing legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, arguing that “even in its sorrowful state, human life carries a dignity that must always be upheld, that can never be lost.” Echoing long-held church teaching, the document condemned abortion as a “deliberate and direct killing.”

Noting a surge in global conflict, the Vatican repeated Francis’s notion that a third world war is already being fought “piecemeal.” The Vatican appeared to once again slam wealthy countries for policies against migrants. “No one will ever openly deny that they are human beings; yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human.”

Its sharpest focus was on a subject Francis has frequently railed against: poverty. World leaders have heralded numbers that have shown reductions in global poverty, but the Vatican argued that this does not take into account rising inequality and the hoarding of wealth by a few. The document once again called out consumer culture and corporations — described as the “empire of money” — that downsize employees in a quest for higher profits.

“The claim that the modern world has reduced poverty is made by measuring poverty with criteria from the past that do not correspond to present-day realities,” the document stated. “As a result, poverty can take a variety of forms, such as an obsession with reducing labor costs with no concern for its grave consequences.”

Vatican denounces gender-affirming surgery, gender theory and surrogacy

In a new document, the Vatican says these practices are ‘grave violations of human dignity’.

The Vatican has declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy to be grave violations of human dignity in a new document endorsed by Pope Francis.

The 20-page Dignitas infinita, or Infinite Dignity, published on Monday by the Vatican’s powerful department of doctrine, is the culmination of five years of work.

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It was released as the Catholic Church is split over a range of social issues and covers the key themes of Francis’s 11-year papacy, from war to ecology and social justice.

While the document reaffirms the church’s long-held opposition to abortion and euthanasia, the Vatican has now also repeated its rejection of gender theory, or the idea that one’s gender can be changed. It said God created man and woman as biologically different, separate beings and said people must not tinker with that plan or try to “make oneself God”.

It acknowledged the possibility of surgery to resolve “genital abnormalities” but stressed that “such a medical procedure would not constitute a sex change in the sense intended here”.

The declaration also said surrogate parenting violates the dignity of both the surrogate mother and the child and recalled that Francis in January called it “despicable” and urged a global ban.

The Vatican also reasserted its opposition to the criminalisation of homosexuality, which still exists in many countries, particularly in Africa.

“It should be denounced as contrary to human dignity the fact that, in some places, not a few people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation,” it said.

“We do not talk much about this violation of human rights, … and it is painful that some Catholics defend these unfair laws,” Victor Manuel Fernandez, head of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, said at a news conference.

Document does not apply to ‘gender diverse people’

The pope has made reaching out to LGBTQ people a hallmark of his papacy, ministering to trans Catholics and insisting that the Catholic Church must welcome all children of God.

But he has also denounced gender theory as the “worst danger” facing humanity today, an “ugly ideology” that threatens to cancel out God-given differences between man and woman. He has blasted in particular what he calls the “ideological colonisation” of the West in the developing world, where development aid is sometimes conditioned on adopting Western ideas about gender and reproductive health.

Advocates for LGBTQ Catholics have criticised Monday’s document as outdated, harmful and contrary to the stated goal of recognising the “infinite dignity” of all of God’s children.

They also warned it could have real-world effects on trans people, fuelling anti-trans violence and discrimination.

“While it lays out a wonderful rationale for why each human being, regardless of condition in life, must be respected, honoured and loved, it does not apply this principle to gender-diverse people,” Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ Catholics, told The Associated Press news agency.

Transgender activists also called the document “hurtful” and devoid of the voices and experiences of real trans people, especially in its distinction between transgender people and intersex people.

“The suggestion that gender-affirming healthcare — which has saved the lives of so many wonderful trans people and enabled them to live in harmony with their bodies, their communities and (God) — might risk or diminish trans people’s dignity is not only hurtful but dangerously ignorant,” Mara Klein, a nonbinary, transgender activist who has participated in Germany’s church reform project, told The Associated Press.

“Seeing that, in contrast, surgical interventions on intersex people — which if performed without consent, especially on minors, often cause immense physical and psychological harm for many intersex people to date — are assessed positively just seems to expose the underlying hypocrisy further,” Klein noted.

“On top of the rising hostility towards our communities, we are faced with a church that does not listen and refuses to see the beauty of creation that can be found in our biographies.”

Monday’s declaration comes at a time of some backlash against transgender people, including in the United States, where Republican-led state legislatures are considering a new round of bills restricting medical care for transgender young people — and in some cases adults.

In addition, bills to govern students’ pronouns, trans participation on sports teams and use of bathrooms at schools are also under consideration as well as how the issue should be handled in books and school curriculums.

Vatican rejects gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy in new document

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Vatican says sex reassignment surgery, surrogacy and gender theory threaten human 'dignity'

The Vatican has declared gender confirmation operations and surrogacy as grave threats to human "dignity", putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that violate God's plan for human life.

The Vatican's doctrine office on Monday published a 20-page declaration titled Infinite Dignity that was in the works for the past five years.

It was approved for publication by Pope Francis on March 25 after substantial revision in recent months.

In its most eagerly anticipated section, the Vatican reiterated its rejection of "gender theory" or the idea that one's gender can be "a self-determination".

It said God created man and woman as biologically different, separate beings, and said they must not tinker with that plan or try to "make oneself God".

"It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception," the document said.

It distinguished between transitioning surgeries, which it rejected, and "genital abnormalities" that are present at birth or that develop later. Those abnormalities can be "resolved" with the help of health care professionals, it said.

The document's existence, rumoured since 2019, was confirmed in recent weeks by the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, a close confidante of Pope Francis.

He had cast it as something of a nod to conservatives after he authored a more explosive document approving blessings for same-sex couples that sparked criticism from conservative bishops around the world, especially in Africa.

While the new document rejected gender theory, it took pointed aim at countries — including many in Africa — that criminalise homosexuality.

It echoed Pope Francis's assertion in a 2023 interview that "being homosexual is not a crime", making the assertion now part of the Vatican's doctrinal teaching.

It denounced "as contrary to human dignity the fact that, in some places, not a few people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation".

The document restated well-known Catholic doctrine opposing abortion and euthanasia.

It also added to the list some of Pope Francis's main concerns as pope: the threats to human dignity posed by poverty, war, human trafficking and forced migration.

A child's right to 'a fully human origin'

In a newly articulated position, the declaration said surrogacy violated both the dignity of the surrogate mother and the child.

While much attention on surrogacy has focused on possible exploitation of poor women as surrogates, the Vatican document focuses more on the resulting child.

"The child has the right to have a fully human (and not artificially induced) origin and to receive the gift of a life that manifests both the dignity of the giver and that of the receiver," the document said.

"Considering this, the legitimate desire to have a child cannot be transformed into a 'right to a child' that fails to respect the dignity of that child as the recipient of the gift of life."

The Vatican published its most articulated position on gender in 2019, when the Congregation for Catholic Education rejected the idea that people can choose or change their genders.

It insisted on the complementary nature of biologically male and female sex organs to create new life.

Gender fluidity was described as a symptom of the "confused concept of freedom" and "momentary desires" that characterise post-modern culture.

The new document from the more authoritative Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith quoted from that 2019 education document but tempered the tone.

Significantly, it did not repurpose the 1986 language of a previous doctrinal document saying that homosexual people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect but that homosexual actions are "intrinsically disordered".

Francis has made reaching out to LGBTQ+ people a hallmark of his papacy, ministering to trans Catholics and insisting that the Catholic Church must welcome all children of God.

But he has also denounced "gender theory" as the "worst danger" facing humanity today, describing it as an "ugly ideology" that threatens to cancel out God-given differences between man and woman.

"It needs to be emphasised that biological sex and the sociocultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated," the new document said.

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