A trans woman seeking gender-affirming surgery who was told she could wait up to six years on an NHS waiting list or fork out more than £18,000 said the “unethical” choice had left her feeling “trapped” inside from her body.
Maya Osa, 24, a community events organizer from Southampton, began her transition to becoming a woman after a shopkeeper made a mistake and called her Madam during the Covid pandemic, in 2020, because she was wearing a mask and had hair long.
She decided to change her pronouns and name to be more feminine before contacting her GP to discuss hormone treatments and, later, gender-affirming surgery.
Maya was shocked to discover that the NHS waiting list could take up to six years and decided to pay for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with her savings.
While she has seen incredible results, such as having a rounder face, growing breasts, and thicker thighs, she still feels uncomfortable about her body.
To remedy the “horrible” situation, she has decided to undergo vaginoplasty, a surgical procedure to build a vagina.
However, she does not have the funds to privately pay for the procedure, which costs more than £18,000, so she has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help her feel comfortable in her body.
“I either have to wait until I'm 30 to be seen and finally have the body I want or spend an incredible amount of money,” Maya told PA Real Life.
“The amount of money and time you have to wait to receive treatment as a trans person seems very unethical.
“It's horrible, it really is.”
Maya, who lives with her partner El Shute, 28, in Bristol, hopes to raise awareness of how difficult it is for people to access trans health treatments.
“Being trans is really difficult,” she said.
“Why do we keep attacking trans people as if it's not hard enough to be trans anymore?
“Those things in the media can make you feel really isolated and like you're at risk when you see so many people hating trans people.”
Maya decided to pay for hormone replacement therapy with her savings
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Maya grew up in a large South Asian family in Southampton and often spent time playing with 12 cousins.
Since she was little, she felt more comfortable spending time with girls and would sneak into her parents' room to put on makeup and lipstick.
“I always felt like I didn't belong in the body I was born in,” she said.
“I just preferred to be with the girls and I felt like one of them.
“When I was younger, I would sneak into my mom or my aunt or my grandma's room while they were downstairs and put some lipstick on and then rub it on.”
It wasn't until June 2020, at the start of the Covid pandemic, when she visited a charity shop in Bristol and was called Madam, that she was prompted to begin her transition.
“I had grown my hair out, and although I had facial hair at the time, it was hidden by my mask,” Maya said.
“The lady at the counter misgendered me and called me ma'am and I was like, 'Oh, I like that.'
“I thought, 'Okay, maybe this is something I want and maybe I should lean into this because it feels good.'
“It was absolutely a moment of realization.”
It was then that Maya realized she began to identify as a trans woman.
She asked her friends to start using feminine pronouns she/her/hers and experimented with different names to see which one she felt most comfortable with.
“I officially changed my first and last name in January 2021 because I was quite gendered,” she said.
A month later, in February 2021, Maya spoke to a GP about referral to the Sheffield Gender Identity Clinic to discuss feminizing hormone treatment and gender affirmation surgery on the NHS.
But when she started researching online, she was shocked to discover that the waiting list for an appointment at an NHS gender dysphoria clinic could take years.
“I thought, 'Oh my God, these waiting lists are like three, four, five years, just to get your first appointment,'” she said.
“And then you might have to wait another few years for a second date.”
Hormone treatments, known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), can help people who suffer from gender dysphoria, a mismatch between biological sex and gender identity. a person, by changing their physical appearance.
Trans women who feel dysphoric can also undergo gender affirmation surgery (GAS), which refers to a series of procedures including a penectomy (surgical removal of the external male genitalia), an orchiectomy (surgical removal of the testicles), a vaginoplasty (surgical creation of a vagina), a feminizing genitoplasty (creation of internal female genitalia), and implants to create breasts.
Maya started HRT at the end of 2021 and has spent just under £1,000 in two years on appointment fees (Collect/PA Real Life)
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Feeling confident that this was what she wanted, Maya decided to tell her parents, whom she describes as “strict Muslims,” in May 2021.
Maya, who said she felt trapped in her own body, began exploring private options and contacted the Gender Care clinic online.
She started HRT at the end of 2021 and, after paying almost £1,000 in appointment fees over two years, results began to show.
“Your emotions and your physical appearance change a lot; you feel like you're going through a second puberty,” he said.
“What I have noticed is that my face is much rounder, which makes me feel good.
“My cheeks are fuller and the obvious thing is that I have breasts now.
“My thighs are also thicker, so change your body shape to a more feminine appearance.”
Maya was told she could have to wait six years for her gender affirmation surgery on the NHS.
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In November 2023, Maya decided she wanted GAS and contacted the Gender Clinic at Brighton Hospital.
He was told the procedure would cost around £18,600 plus additional consultation fees.
“I knew it would be five figures and that's why I was so discouraged from looking into it,” he said.
“I was already dealing with a lot of things, but now that I've been taking hormones for two years and my genital dysphoria has become so bad, I really want it.
“It is incredibly frustrating and there have been many times where I have cried about this.
“Feeling uncomfortable in my body is not a good feeling and not being able to do anything about it because I have to wait so long or because I don't have the funds makes me feel trapped.”
To help speed up the process, Maya has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser for £13,000, which has so far received £940 in donations.
“I am very, very grateful for everyone who has donated,” she said.
“Obviously I don't have any support from my parents, so it's the only way I can do it.
“I'm immensely grateful to have the support.”
