Thousands of transgender women nationwide are facing a shortage of injectable estrogen after the manufacturer lost supply of a key ingredient and the Food and Drug Administration has failed to approve a new supplier. Originally, the FDA said the drug would be accessible again come October, but now availability appears to be delayed by another month. Samantha Michaels writes:
"The FDA recognizes this is an important drug, and is working with the drug manufacturers so that the drug may return to the market as quickly as possible," Andrea Fischer, a spokeswoman for the agency, told BuzzFeed. Perrigo, a company that makes the generic version, did not respond to BuzzFeed's request for comment.
The shortage has left thousands of transgender women in a tough situation. "The drive and desire to be authentic, to live in the correct body, it's so strong," Gina Bingham, a trans woman in California, told BuzzFeed. "Something like this can throw people to a bad place."
Not all injectable estrogen is in short supply. The smallest dose (10mg), which is usually prescribed to post-menopausal women, remains available. Meanwhile, the two larger doses (40mg and 20mg) typically used by transgender women have both been affected.
The shortage "speaks to the disparity of how we as a community understand the importance of hormones for trans people," Anthony Vavasis, the director of an LGBT health center in New York, told Out magazine. "What if tomorrow we announced, 'There's no more insulin available for diabetics?' How would that play?"