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http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1338000/1338419.stm (If everyone who lost one or more testis in the eunuch archive stories could receive an offsetting payment, we would be zillionares and could endow a castration institute ). An American transsexual wants to sell her testicles for research in an attempt to fund her sex change operation, reports BBC News Online's Jane Elliott. Sherri LeAnn De Rossett was born as Jerald De Rossett. She says she has spent 56 years as a woman trapped in a man's body, unable to live the life she considers normal. Now she wants sexual realignment, and wants to sell her testicles, the trappings of her male past, to fund her surgery. I am not a greedy person - I am just trying to cover the cost of the operation Sherri LeAnn De Rossett Doctors in the United States have said they could soon be using tissue from animal testes to treat brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Ms De Rossett, who lives in Portland, Oregon, says that while her testes are no longer of any use to her, they could be used to help others instead of being thrown away when removed. She told BBC News Online: "I am a pre-op female transsexual and I have no further need for mine and could use the receipts to off-set my surgery. "I would like to get enough money from the sale to cover my surgery, but I have no idea what the price for something like that is, or even whether it is really possible to sell them. Expensive surgery "Being just a layman I have no idea of price, but I am not a greedy person - I am just trying to cover the cost of the operation." She expects the surgery to cost her dear, at around $20,000. Over the last year or so, Ms De Rossett, who is unemployed, has undergone psychotherapy to prepare her mind for the changes her body will undergo. Although she still resembles a man physically and has a distinctly male voice, she lives her life as a woman. She dresses like a woman, says she feels like a woman and even uses female public toilets - although she always carries a notification from her medical team to explain her predicament. She has now started her hormone therapy and the next step is the surgery, which she expects to have in 2002. Supportive family Ms De Rossett's family have been very supportive of her plight. She has three grown-up children and a loyal wife Grecia, to whom she has been married to for 30 years. Grecia is standing by her former husband Despite her shock at the situation, Grecia is standing by her former husband, even passing on make-up and clothing tips. "I love being a woman and my family have accepted me as Sherri," said Ms De Rossett. "Before I decided to have this operation I had become unapproachable and was living like a recluse. I was hiding away within myself. "My wife and I are still living in the same house. But will it continue to last? I certainly hope so. "I am not a lesbian in that sense, but I do have a responsibility to this woman. "There is a love between us and although it is not a sexual love it is a mental one." Ms De Rossett says she now just wants to be free to live her life in the way she has chosen - as a woman.
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