Having law on their side in the wake of a legislation passed in 2019 besides a constitutional right to register themselves under the third gender category, the number of transgenders in the country showing interest in gender-change surgeries—female to male and vice versa — is increasing, plastic surgeons pointed out on Wednesday. .
However, while the number of those having actually reached the logical conclusion remains unknown as most of the surgeries are being conducted in the private hospitals where the transgender is assured of secrecy.
In the Government hospitals in contrast, the OPD is crowded and health records are mostly open to all. Transgenders aspiring surgeries thus prefer private hospitals even though treatment cost is quite high in such settings, said Dr Vijay Kumar, Department of Plastic Surgery, King George Medical University, Lucknow. Dr Kumar is also the Secretary of Indian Plastic Surgeon Association.
“In the last 10 years, in Lucknow alone, around 18 transgender surgeries—16 in private centres -- have been conducted,” he informed.
In Government hospitals mostly, surgeries are free except for the cost on the devices if any. Such surgeries are time consuming as the doctors have to take help of psychiatrists who analyse the interested transgender at least six months. The mindset and psychology of the transgender is studied intensively and he/she is made to understand that once the sex is changed there is no going back.
Dr (Prof) Maneesh Singhal, Head-Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery, AIIMS, Delhi, shared that they will be holding a workshop on issues related with surgeries involving transgenders. According to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, the government is mandated to provide health facilities to transgender persons, including separate HIV surveillance centers and gender affirmation surgery.
"It is time that they are treated as equals and hospital settings are sensitive towards their rights. We will soon hold a sensitization workshop just to sensitise our own staff towards the needs of the community so that they avail health facilities without any hesitation," said Dr Singhal.
The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is planning to set up ‘Garima Greh’ or shelter homes for transgenders across the country. This is aimed at rehabilitating the members of the community whose parents or immediate family shun them because of their gender orientation.
"Many trans-persons undergo gender distress caused by not having your body match your gender identity. But such surgeries are expensive and only few state governments like Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu have been helpful," Reena Rai, who organizes transgender beauty pageants in India, was quoted by a news agency.