Q: I am a 30-year-old male. I want to become a female by sex change operation. What will be the total minimum charge for it and where can I get it done? Is it possible for me to give birth to children after becoming a female? It is my extreme desire to be the mother of a child.

A:Intersex or transsexualism is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male i.e. an innate gender identity opposite to the genital sex of their bodies. Studies reveal that it is seen in about 1 in 11,900 males and 1 in 30,400 females. Although most infants appear to be either normal boys or girls, various genetic and developmental effects can lead to infants having ambiguous genitalia, or the genitals look correct for one gender but are not consistent with the infants genes or the child's genes are more complex than just XX or XY, making it difficult to predict the child's gender identity. Five types of gender identity disorders are described: Transsexualism, Dual-role Transvestism, Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood, Other Gender Identity Disorders and Unspecified Gender Identity disorder, each having specific diagnostic criteria. Dealing with such individuals entails a diagnostic assessment, psychotherapy, real-life experience, hormone therapy, and surgical therapy. Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is a dramatic and irrevocable final step in male to female gender transition (or vice-versa) and is undertaken only after a comprehensive evaluation by a qualified mental health professional as it requires change in the genitalia and other sex characteristics. As SRS requires an inter-disciplinary intervention, it is best to go to a major hospital where all the different services can be accessed together. There are no guidelines from the Medical Council of India on the issue of transsexuality and the surgery is likely to be expensive. You would need to go to a plastic surgeon trained in this field. It will not be possible for you to give birth to the baby due to the absence of ovaries.