Cape Town - It's a race against time for 33-year-old Jayde Kay Johnson, who is aiming to raise R200 000 to have her sex change done in Thailand as the waiting list at the Groote Schuur Hospitals Transgender Clinic has a backlog of up to 20 years.
Last month, Johnson began a crowdfunding campaign on Backabuddy: ”Pave the way to my true self,” which has managed to raise R2800.
Johnson, who has done her research on the waiting period at Groote Schuur, said it was cheaper and faster to have the surgery done abroad.
“I am on the waiting list already and I understand you can wait up to 20 years,” said Johnson.
“The sex reassignment surgery in Thailand has various packages, the hospital stay alone can cost up to R90 000, the surgery R150 000 and so on.
“I have friends who have done the surgery in Thailand.
Only four gender-affirming surgeries are done a year at Groote Schuur, but sometimes this number can increase, according to the Western Cape Health Department.
Currently 34 new patients are waiting for the surgery at the hospital which receives between six to eight patients a month.
In the private sector, this could total between R450 000 and R600 000 as it is deemed cosmetic surgery, while in the public sector at Groote Schuur, hormone treatment and gender-affirming surgery is based on the patient's income.
Born Jason Afrika, Johnson was just 5 year old when she realised she was different.
Johnson said she would admire her grandmother's dresses and shoes as she prepared for Sunday service and applied her eye-pencil and red lipstick.
At age 17, Johnson began hormone therapy at Groote Schuur Hospital after consultations with doctors, therapists, social workers and with the support of her family.
Six years ago, she took the bold decision to remove her testicles.
“It was very painful,” she said. “I began hormone therapy when I was 17-years-old and I had to see social workers and therapists before coming to this decision.
“It was for six months and it was like a woman who is pregnant, the moods, the pain.”
Then followed a name and gender change at Home Affairs, which required letters from medical doctors and social workers.
Destiny Links, of the Plastic Surgery Department for the Red Cross Children's Hospital via Groote Schuur Hospital and the Western Cape Health Department, said the waiting period grew every month.
“We currently have 34 new patients waiting for surgery. This number grows weekly as we see between six and eight new patients a month at our clinic,” said Links.
“These patients all reside in the Western Cape. We still have patients in our system that had their gender-affirming surgery, but still want other procedures done to make them look more masculine or more feminine.
“Patients get booked for surgery according to the year they were first seen. We have four full-day theatre lists per year. This can accommodate six to eight patients per year depending on the procedure required.
“There is one more theatre list this year with two patients booked.”
Johnson is hoping for the best as she waits to achieve her dream of becoming her true self in Thailand: “I am hoping I can raise enough to pay a deposit as I have seven months to do so, I would like to do the surgery between November and December”.
Johnson, who has the support of her family and siblings, lip syncs and does drag shows with popular stage artists, and recently featured on Divas One Night Only.
Gita November, who advocates for transgender health via Gender Dynamix, said: “The waiting list (at Groote Schuur) can be up to 25 and 40 years.”
“We at Gender Dynamix are busy with our third consultation of producing a preposition paper on gender affirming health care, we are specifically looking at the waiting period.
“There is a limit in well-trained doctors in vaginoplasty. Most medical aids do not cover hormone care and classify gender surgery as cosmetic. Privately it can cost you over R300 000 and that is why many are choosing to do it outside of the country.
“But it must be understood that when you do the surgery there is also the after care and wound dressing when you come back home.
“Earlier this year, I was part of a panel discussion on this and during a keynote address at the University of Cape Town, one of the issues we touched on was the waiting period and having it reduced to one year and looking at the cost and it was said they have been looking at it for years and this goes against our human rights.”