Story By: Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub Editor: Alex Cope, Agency: Real Press
A Russian man who discovered he is a hermaphrodite with a uterus in his body says he cannot get the treatment he needs from a gynaecologist because they have told him they only attend females.
Andrey Sokolov, whose age is unknown, is from the city of Serpukhov in the western Russian region of Moscow Oblast.
In an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia, Andrey explained that he always suffered from health problems and no doctor was able to identify what was wrong with him until five years ago when he had an X-ray which showed he had a uterus and ovaries in his body.
According to national news channel REN TV, Andrey went for an X-ray which revealed that he had both male and female reproductive system organs and he has an unusual ‘intersex condition’, named ‘true hermaphroditism’.
Andrey said: “You can’t imagine it, but it’s true. I need hormone replacement therapy but I can’t get it because I need to attend a gynaecologist, who refuses to let me in, saying they only accept women.”
Andrey said that he is in a sort of ‘vicious circle’, as gynaecologists send him to a urologist, who says in his turn that the problem is a female one and sends back to the gynaecologist.
According to the desperate man, he even changed his name to Nika on his ID on the recommendation of a doctor so he could get the treatment he needs.
Even after he changed his name, however, the new document still had an M for male on it and he was still unable to see the gynaecologist.
According to Andrey, the unnamed doctor also told him: “You should go and see a psychiatrist… try and inspire yourself to like men.”
To which Andrey responded: “Why should I inspire myself to love men if I don’t?! I like women?”
The man is currently living alone in his small apartment and does not have a job due to health issues.
According to Izvestia, Andrey recently filed a statement with the local department of the Russian Investigative Committee and the prosecutor’s office to help him find the best way to resolve the issue he is experiencing with medical staff.
True hermaphroditism, sometimes referred to as ovotesticular disorder, is an intersex condition in which an individual is born with ovarian and testicular tissue. Commonly one or both gonads is an ovotestis containing both types of tissue.
External genitalia is often ambiguous, the degree depending mainly on the amount of testosterone produced by the testicular tissue between eight and 16 weeks of gestation.
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