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donny1231992 t1_iryqp8c wrote

Okay, so here’s my question. Somebody please give me a logical solution going forward on this issue. I work in a laboratory of a hospital. If a patient comes into the ER unconscious, they are stabilized and blood is drawn and given to the lab for analysis. Reference ranges for some important analytes are slightly different for males and females (e.g hemoglobin)

Maybe in a clinical context this doesn’t affect patient treatment so much, but I’m curious if there this is a problem or how the hospital deals with this. This also includes transgender people.

I have nothing against people choosing which gender they identify as, but medically there are biologically differences in hormones. Maybe this is a non-issue, but would love to hear from an ER tech/nurse/doc on how this is handled.

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[deleted] t1_irzgapd wrote

The person is asked what biological sex they were at birth and what, if any, meds they take. It will come up then.

Edit: Downvotes for what actually happens in UK medical care? Okaaaaay.

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Nokneemouse t1_irzmi29 wrote

> If a patient comes into the ER unconscious,

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T0WERM0NKEY t1_is0ierc wrote

Do the same thing you'd do if there was no id on them.

These aren't difficult questions.

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Nokneemouse t1_is2bi1l wrote

Provide a lower standard of care, because you don't have all the information?

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T0WERM0NKEY t1_is2v7yg wrote

You never have all the info. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

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[deleted] t1_irznyyh wrote

Then it's a potential ballache. But if they have ID then their doctor can be phoned and details confirmed. Or a family member contacted etc.

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booperdooperscooper t1_is02e4a wrote

We record sex, not gender on a driving license. Even GRC trans people still have their bio sex recorded, not their gender identity.

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crushbyrichardsiken t1_is0tivl wrote

nah, my license has the gender i present as. it's pretty easy to switch it here lol

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endmeibegyou t1_is0noq1 wrote

I used to work at an ER and one time a chick came in with a stomach ache. They didn't have any identification. We even told them we would be running a pregnancy test just in case (extremely common thing to do). One of the nurses was helping them put on the gown and got a glimpse of a not so female body so yeah....doc had to change a few things.

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T0WERM0NKEY t1_is0ia5k wrote

Gender and biological sex are not the same thing

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Hermesent t1_irywu2x wrote

A binary the gender marker doesn’t tell you what someone’s hormone levels are - cis or trans.

Many trans people have undergone HRT but not changed their license. Many cis people have hormone levels that naturally fall outside of the “normal range” for their group. The gender marker on a license is irrelevant when it comes to lifesaving medical care.

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catchallt3rm t1_is0200i wrote

men naturally have far higher levels of testosterone than women..."natural" variation within the sexes is not comparable to the high-dose cross sex hormones that transsexuals take.

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crushbyrichardsiken t1_is0uovx wrote

so my testosterone levels are in the 700s because I've been taking it for years. I have friends who are on estrogen who take testosterone blockers and have the exact estrogen levels and testosterone I would've before I transitioned, in fact in some cases higher estrogen levels than mine were.

I don't know if I totally understood your message but the point of the hormones is to match what they would naturally be. they use the same medication to treat early menopause and PCOS!

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