An eight-month-old Canadian baby has been issued a health card that does not specify the child's sex, in what could be a world first.

It has been done at the request of parent Kori Doty, a non-binary transgender parent who identifies as neither male nor female.

The baby, named Searyl Atli, has been issued with a British Columbia health card with a "U" in the space where a child's sex is normally specified. It is believed "U" could stand for unspecified or undetermined.