“Transgender” medicine is a booming industry

According to some estimates, there are now over 1.6 million Americans who identify as transgender, and demand for transition-related procedures—puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries—has increased significantly in recent years. However, much is still unknown about the size of this new industry as well as its effects on its customers.

our findings include

Total revenues for transgender drugs and surgeries in 2023 were estimated to surpass $4.4 billion. And by 2030, the market is expected to grow beyond $7.8 billion.

While the total cost of transitioning varies widely by individual, lifelong use of cross-sex hormones could cost up to $300,000 or more per person, while a full surgical transition could cost upwards of $150,000 per individual.

The potential health consequences of undergoing transition are numerous, ranging from increased risk of cancer, nerve damage, chronic pain, sexual dysfunction, mental health issues, the need for additional surgeries, and more.

A number of transgender surgery providers were each estimated to bring in over $100 million in revenue in 2022 from these practices. Pharmaceutical companies are profiting as much as $74 million each annually from those products.

Given the lucrative nature of this industry, it seems likely medical practitioners will continue to recommend and administer these drugs and procedures for as long as they feel safe from liability. However, many detransitioners are beginning to emerge, facing regret as well as significant health issues resulting from their transition. Their public stories—as well as potential lawsuits—may eventually lead to a reckoning for the industry, resulting in transgender medicine going the way of the lobotomy.

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More victims are coming forward to tell their stories, even as physicians in the United States plow forward with promoting “gender-affirming care” as an unalloyed good.

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Chloe Cole

Cole’s parents told her they were given the following ultimatum: “would you rather have a dead daughter or a live son”?

Soren Aldaco

Aldaco’s physicians promised a troubled young girl happiness; they gave her a living hell and a butchered body.

Richard Anumene

Richard testified under oath: “My entertaining that lifestyle choice was due to my adverse childhood experiences.”

Luka Hein

After a 55-minute consultation, Hein was diagnosed with “gender identity disorder.” The fact that she was on a cocktail of medications and plagued by a variety of psychiatric issues only seemed to validate that diagnosis.

Kayla Lovdahl

Lovedahl’s physicians “promptly placed her on puberty blockers and testosterone at age 12.” She received a double mastectomy within six months, when she was only age 13.

The Cost of Transition

It is difficult to put a precise price tag on the process of sex-trait modification, given the sheer variety of procedures offered; the wide range in costs; and the additional unknowns of required follow-up, potential complications, etc. However, based on the data provided by Grand View Research, the following can be considered a very rough (and likely conservative) estimate of the total cost for both a male and a female to undergo the complete sex-trait modification process.

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