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03/28/2024 10:13:26 pm

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Hospital Posts Photos of Trans Patient in Operating Room

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(Photo : GETTY IMAGES) A random operating room.

A hospital in Guangzhou published private photos of a trans girl patient while doctors were working on her. 

Ling Xue, a 17-year-old transgender woman, went to The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on March 31 to correct her home surgery to remove her testes. But on April 5, the hospital posted on its public WeChat account about Ling's surgery with graphic photos. 

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The photos include a hospital staff that measures Ling's enlarged scrotum, Ling on the operating table with her face blurred, and an ultrasound image of her reproductive organs. They also posted her personal details (but not her real name) without Ling's consent. 

The post was deleted hours after its original publication at the patient's request, but it has already been viewed more than 8,000 times and reposted in other social media platforms. 

"My spirit is close to collapse. Originally, I just wanted the hospital to undo the influence of the post, but that's no longer possible. Now, I'm asking for a public apology and compensation for the psychological damage," Ling told Sixth Tone

The hospital declined to comment, although Ling said that hospital staff told her they didn't do anything wrong. 

Aside from the intimate photos, the post also used male pronouns when referring to Ling and derogatory terms such as zigong, which means "self-castration," which are both offensive to the LGBTQ community. 

Ling is planning to take legal actions, but experts warned her it will be difficult as the hospital did not use her real name and blurred her face. 

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