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Jeddah: King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah is setting up a fully-fledged centre for the treatment of sexual defects, the first of its kind in the kingdom.
The centre will carry out diagnosis, treatment and even sex-change operations if needed to correct defects, said Dr Osama Tayyib, president of the University, during a press conference here on Tuesday.
"The centre will provide medical advice for those who want to correct their sexual defects. It will also give counselling and help to those having problems with sexual functions," he said.
The university will soon host an international conference on the treatment of sexual defects. Prominent physicians and experts from around the world will take part in the event, he said.
Addressing the press conference, Dr Yasir Saleh Jamal head of the medical team at the university hospital, who is also a professor and paediatric consultant surgeon underlined the need for making a difference between treatment of sexual defects and sex-change operation in light of Sharia principles.
He said: "Correction of sexual defects is made in line with the religious edicts (fatwa) issued by the Saudi Senior Scholars' Commission, the Permanent Committee for Scientific Research and Ifta, and the Fiqh Academy under the Makkah-based Muslim World League.
"These higher bodies pronounced fatwa permitting correction of the defects of genital organs and prohibiting sex-change operations for other reasons."
Dr Jamal, who carried out sex-change operation on at least 10 young women in the last two years, stressed that sex-change operations are conducted to rectify birth defects and not for any other whimsical reasons.
Displaying visuals of the operations, which was carried out at the university hospital, he explained the procedures.
Some members of the press were surprised by the lack of hospitals dealing with sex-change operations in the kingdom.
King Abdul Aziz University Hospital has carried out more than 300 operations to correct genital defects over the past 25 years, 93 per cent of the cases were conducted during childhood.
Some of the cases are of ambiguous genitalia, which is a birth defect of the sex organs that makes it unclear whether an affected newborn is a girl or a boy. The baby will have a mixture of both female and male parts.
The causes for the defects include genetic variations, hormonal imbalances and malformations of the foetal tissues that are supposed to evolve into genitals. Dr Jamal highlighted the cases of five siblings, the eldest of whom is now aged 38 and the youngest 17.
"At present, three of them are university students while the remaining two are engaged in professions. Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and Aviation, has extended support in cash and kind for them after successfully carrying out surgery for correcting their sexual defects," he said.
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