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A transgender woman has revealed plans to freeze her sperm to ensure she can realise her dream of having children that are biologically hers.

Although she was assigned male at birth, Eleyna Salih, 21, said she "always knew" she was supposed to be female.

In April last year, she was told by doctors at Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic in central London that she was eligible to begin the hormone therapy that will start her journey to becoming the woman she's always known she is.

But first, she plans to freeze her genetics so that, when the time comes to start a family, she can have children that are biologically hers.

"Growing up, children my age weren't very nice to me so I didn't want kids of my own for a long time. But now I've got younger siblings and cousins, my maternal instinct has kicked in, and now all I want is to be a mum," she said.

"Seeing a child grow and develop into a human being is a beautiful thing to watch.

"I just want to freeze my genetics so I can begin to live life, build myself up as a person, work hard and save money to provide for my future child. I want to make sure I'm secure enough to give them a good life."

(Image: PA Real Life)

So determined is Eleyna, of New Cross in south London, to become a mother, that the idea of single-parenthood does not phase her.

"I don't need to have a man to validate my parenting," she said. "At the end of the day, it'll be my genetics making this child.



"If I happen to get in a relationship with someone and they're happy to stand by and be a father, then fantastic. I commend any man that would do that.



"But if not, I'm still having my child. That's my priority."



Growing up, Eleyna said she "always knew she was different" to her peers.

"I hate saying that because it's such a cliché, but it's the truth," she said.



"I've always known I was born in the wrong body. I've always known I was female. When I was around 13, I started growing my hair, wearing makeup and dressing more androgynous.



"I gradually started getting more feminine. By the time I was 17, I knew in my heart of hearts that I had to transition to become a women in order to be happy in my life."

Over the years, Eleyna has found herself to be the target of cruel bullies .



"It wasn't nice. I've always been bullied," she told. "People throwing shade, making comments – just general nastiness.



"I still had friends so I was never lonely, but people were still cruel.



"I thought my behaviour – the way I dressed, the way I acted - was normal to me but other kids at school would tease me. I've never conformed to whatever normal is, I've just been me."



Happily, her family are all very supportive.



Though she officially didn't come out as transgender until she was 18, they knew all along that she was wanted to live as a woman.



"If your son is walking round the house in female clothes with long hair, earrings make up and nails, you know something's up. My family were just waiting until I was ready for it to come out," she said.

(Image: PA Real Life)

That time finally came in her late teens, when Eleyna realised that her key to happiness lay in transitioning to female.

But unsure of how where to start, she began to self-medicate with hormones using the birth control pill – though she says she would not recommend this to anybody.



"I don't advise it, but in sheer desperation, that's what I did," she admitted.



"People shouldn't do this, though. They should go to the doctors to get regulated hormones."



Thankfully, after sitting on a wait list for 18 months, she secured an appointment at a London gender identity clinic before she caused herself any serious damage through self-medication.



There, she was told she was eligible to begin hormone therapy.



She can start this at any time, but wants to freeze her genetics before she does so.



"I don't want the oestrogen to interfere with freezing my genetics," she said. "I want to have healthy children."



Currently, Eleyna is crowdfunding to help raise the £360 needed to freeze her genetics for one year through City Fertility, who she said have been extremely supportive.



She has set up a GoFundMe page called 'Eleyna's Fertility Treatment,' which has gathered £180 in just ten days.



Once the initial payment is made, she plans to work hard to raise another £360 just in case, a year down the line, she is still not in the position to become a parent.



"I'll work hard to save as much as I can so I can keep paying them to freeze my genetics until I'm ready to be a mum," she said. "I'm going to see how it all goes, but ideally, I wouldn't want children much later than 34 or 35 years old.



"It's really important that my grandparents meet my child. It would be a gift for them."



Having been bullied for most of her life, Eleyna admitted that seeing her own children teased is a real worry – but she hopes to instil values in them that'll see them respect and embrace people from all walks of life.

(Image: PA Real Life)

"It's a worry any parent would have, not just because I'm transgender. Children are bullied for all sorts of reasons and, if that were to happen, I'd find a way to cross that bridge," she explained.

"But we, as a society, are progressing. By the time people of my generation become parents, the way we all think will have changed so much that it'll have a domino effect."



Speaking on how she'd use her own experiences to become the best parent she can be, Eleyna continued: "I'll teach my kids to be respectful of everyone.

If they see somebody sitting on their own in the playground, I want them to go and sit with them and welcome them. That's a fellow human.

"I was never brought up to point out differences in people. We're all human beings, we all bleed red blood. We shouldn't be looking at people's exterior – it's more important whether they're a good person with a good soul."



To help Eleyna become a mum, visit www.gofundme.com/f9p7w4fg

Read more:Couple born opposite sex to each other find love

