By Mohammed Dawood
JEDDAH – The sex-correction surgical center at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah has performed sex reassignment surgery (SRS) on 1,030 transgendered patients in the Kingdom and neighboring Gulf states since its inception 10 years ago, according to Dr. Yasser Jamal, president of the center.
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Dr. Yasser Jamal[/caption]
“We have rejected several requests for change sex because we thought those cases suffered from psychological problems due to a loss of self-esteem and they should get psychiatric treatment,” Jamal told Okaz/Saudi Gazette.
The center has treated several patients from the same family.
“We call them ‘sex-correction families’ and this is a unique case. Such birth defects are hereditary and patients need to undergo surgeries for gender confirmation,” he added. The waiting time for operations will reach up to five years during which cases will be studied and assessed.
Some individuals discover their gender problems late in their teenage. “This group represents 10 percent of the total number of patients who have visited the center,” Jamal said.
After undergoing the operation, these individuals face psychological problems as society would be hesitant to accept them and the patients would find it difficult to readjust with their new gender status.
Asked about the causes of sex defects, Jamal said they include hereditary reasons, use of certain medicines and hormone imbalance in mothers. “Mothers should avoid taking hormones and medicines that could affect sex organs of the fetus,” he said, adding that the rate of incidence is relatively high in consanguineous marriages.
Jamal said some of his patients were married women who could not give birth due to sex defects. “Some individuals will have female features in appearance and at the same time there will be birth defects in their sexual organs. We received 15 such cases. These individuals have male features but they lacked male hormones,” he explained.
Jamal said the center would not conduct sex correction surgery on such patients. At the same time, we will reconstruct their reproductive organs to remove the deformity,” he said, adding that patients who underwent sex reassignment surgery would be given certificates in order to present them to the relevant authorities to change their identity in official documents, including civil status cards and passports.
“We have noticed that some individuals have faced difficulty to get new IDs due to complicated legal procedures,” Jamal said. He urged the authorities to expedite the issuance of IDs to those who have realigned their sex, especially those who have conducted the surgery inside the Kingdom.
Jamal pointed out chances of foul play in certificates obtained from foreign countries proving sex change. “The Shariah has prohibited sex change for normal individuals,” he said.
The center received 20 cases with individuals demanding re-issuance of their certificates stating it was sex correction, not sex change. “The center has refused to do that,” he added.
“A sex change operation would have serious consequences and impacts the patient’s right of inheritance. It will create a lot of complications when it comes to inheritance,” Jamal said.
“For example, if the sex change is done on an only male in a family from boy to girl, cousins will have shares in inheritance. In the same manner, if a girl changed her sex to boy, she can prevent her cousins from getting any inheritance,” Jamal said.
He said the center conducts sex correction operations based on sound principles and after thorough genetic tests.
Jamal said there is no specific age for sex correction.
“When there is a problem in determining sex, such cases should be taken to experts. I have observed that 90 percent of the cases are discovered at the time of birth and operations are conducted within two years,” he added.
Jamal preferred to find the defect at the time of birth as it would be easy to conduct correction operations on small children. It will also reduce psychological problems.
Modern scientific and technological developments have simplified sex correction surgeries, he said.
The center conducts sex correction surgery on Saudis free of charge. It will cost SR100,000 in any other hospital and center. “We charge SR35,000 for the operation,” he added.
Speaking about legal issues related to changing the ID of individuals who have undergone sex correction surgery, lawyer Bandar Al-Mufti said approval for such changes should come from the Personal Affairs Court and Civil Status Department.
“These individuals should approach the Personal Affairs Court first to confirm sex correction on the basis of certificates issued by the correction centers. Later they will submit all relevant documents to the Civil Affairs Department to prove that he or she has undergone sex correction surgery. It will be followed by necessary procedures to issue them new IDs,” he explained.
