The Ministry of Health has proposed more details to complete the bill to legalise sex reassignment surgery for those aged over 18.

The groom Dinh Nhiem and his bride, Thao My who is a transgender at their wedding on August 2 in Thanh Hoa Province.

The Vietnamese National Assembly approved a bill to legalise sex reassignment surgery and recognise transgender people on November 24, 2015. The bill which took effect on January 1 this year allows people to undergo sex reassignment surgery in Vietnam. Nguyen Huy Quang, head of the legal department under the Ministry of Health, said the cost of surgery in Vietnam was eight to ten times cheaper than overseas.

According to Quang, there are 270,000 transgender people in Vietnam. The report on the necessity of health services for transgender people by the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment showed that there were 3,000 transgender people in HCM City alone.

Most people carried out their reassignment, cosmetic surgery, and hormone replacement therapy overseas. Female to male reassignment surgery costs USD30,000 and USD35,000 for male to female surgery. Those who can't travel abroad often buy hormones of unknown origin.

Statistics from the Information Collecting and Sharing Centre show that 24 to 30 transgender people in HCM City have post-surgery complications and 8 to 10 people died due to various complications during hormone replacement therapy or silicone implants each year.

They also aren't consulted about the drastic changes and have difficulties with official documents and administrative procedures. Those who have operations overseas were not legally recognised in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health also proposed three sets of conditions to recognise transgender people legally.

First, those who have taken psychological tests and have used hormones for over two years will be legally recognised. The second set requires people to take psychological tests, use hormones for one year and underwent sex reassignment surgery. Lastly, the authorities will recognise transgender people with only psychological test and request.

The ministry has shown support for the first and second sets and suggested including the condition that only 18-year-old and older adults are allowed to have sex surgery. The ministry also wants to limit the legal recognition to single people only.

Those who already had sex reassignment surgery overseas must have check-ups at authorised hospitals to be legally recognised.

Dtinews