transgender (Photo : Reuters)
The desire to become a parent someday is common across genders and sexual orientations. However, undergoing certain medical procedures to shift genders may affect that chance. Aware of the impact of undergoing hormone therapy on her ability to have a baby, 18-year-old Nicole Carman from California had her eggs frozen.
People reported on Saturday that Carman, now a transgender man called Cole, agreed to the procedure in January on recommendation of his doctor after undergoing double mastectomy which removed the female breasts to give Carman's chest area a masculine appearance.
Explaining his decision, Carman said, "I already knew I wanted kids, so to say yes and make that decision was a no-brainer," quotes Time. The teen from San Francisco area, who initially began looking into gender transition at 12, researched on the egg retrieving process as part of preparing for hormone therapy.
The procedure, paid for by Carman's parents, cost about $13,000. C.J. Carman, the mother of Cole, agreed to the idea because she had difficulty conceiving when she was younger that she adopted Nicole.
Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh, Carman's doctor, notes that many trans-males undergo the procedure of freezing their eggs at about age 30, making Carman one of the youngest to do so. "This is an unusual [case] and probably one of the first, if not the first, for a teenager," Eyvazzadeh says.
The procedure, which is expensive, is important for transgender men who want to have biological children, Cole says, explaining, "You should think, how important would it be that your child is related to you? That would be the biggest factor to play in into making the decision."
