Source: KQED
At least 30 clinics across the U.S. have experienced a surge in demand from youth seeking treatment.
One clinic, Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital, opened four years ago and has over 500 patients already, in addition to a wait-list.
The common thread among all patients is a “strong, almost certain, belief that they have been born into the wrong body. Their brains tell them they are one gender, their bodies another,” reported KQED.
Medical practitioners for transgender clinics often have to be in the role of fighting insurance barriers that often want to bar young people from receiving treatment because they are “too young.” But practitioners like Olson-Kennedy say their distress is clear and they often have no resources or support, other than that which is offered in clinics.
Some kids try to commit suicide every time they have their period, or some try to remove their genitals themselves, doctors reported.
Other doctors believe youth should wait until the age of 18 to make critical gender decisions.
Read full story at: KQED