Lengthy backlog for sex change surgeries in SA

WHILE an Emirati woman seeks permission from the courts in the United Arab Emirates to have that country’s first sex change operation‚ hundreds of people face the prospect of having to wait for up to 25 years to get the surgery done in South Africa.

The 29-year-old woman‚ who has testosterone levels similar to a man‚ could become the first person in the UAE to undergo the procedure since the country recently legalised gender reassignment surgery under a Medical Liability Law.

She had felt like a man trapped in the wrong body since she was five years old‚ said her lawyer Ali Al Mansouri.

The hearing was postponed this week until October 5 for medical examinations‚ reported the Middle Eastern online news portal Gulf News.

While it has been 13 years since South Africa promulgated the Alteration of Sex Description and Status Act‚ a number of challenges cause significant delays in gender reassignment surgery‚ causing a huge backlog. There are only two hospitals in the country that do sex change surgeries: Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria and Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

Each of the two hospitals performs four surgeries in a year.

Western Cape health department spokesman Alaric Jacobs said: “In the Western Cape the waiting list is approximately 25 years long and this type of service is only available to patients from the Western Cape.”

At Steve Biko‚ however‚ there is “no actual waiting list”‚ according to Gauteng health department spokesman Steve Mabona.

Jacobs said Groote Schuur Hospital had‚ since 2009‚ treated 40 patients.

He said gender reassignment took six to 10 hours per operation.

The Lesbian‚ Gay‚ Bisexual‚ Transgender and Intersex community have criticised the Alteration of Sex Description and Status Act saying gender can only be changed at Home Affairs after the surgery‚ which involves a long wait. — TMG Digital