A transgender teenage girl who is becoming a man is freezing his eggs – so he can become a biological dad in the future.
Riley Middlemore, 16, was born a girl called Rebecca, but revealed to his family last year that he wanted to have a gender change.
Riley as a young girl
He is set to have a full sex change once he is aged 18 – including a mastectomy, hysterectomy and penis construction.
But the brave teen – who binds his 34C chest and shaves his long brown hair – has decided he wants to freeze his eggs first so any child he has will be biologically related.
Riley (middle back) with brothers, Jake, Phillip, Ricky and Martin.
College student Riley, from Gloucester, said: “I want to get married one day. I’ve always wanted a family and I love children.
Riley wants to be a dad one day
“My partner would be the surrogate and carry my eggs. That way I can have children that are biologically mine with my partner.”
Riley said he was always a tomboy when he was growing up, and would often share toys and clothes with his four brothers.
But the happy-go-lucky child started to hate the way he looked when he started puberty.
“I was trapped in the wrong body but kept it to myself,” he said.
Riley, who always fancied girls, came out as gay last December, and then shortly afterwards told his mum Carrie, 36, he wanted to become a man.
He revealed the truth before his mum was coming round for tea with his new then-girlfriend, who was fully aware of Riley’s new identity.
He said: “Mum was coming round to have tea with my then girlfriend.
“I was worried my partner might refer to me as ‘Riley’ or ‘he’.
“I said to Mum, ‘I need to tell you something.’
“She said, ‘You want to be a boy?’ She had guessed, and just hugged me.”
Riley with supportive nan (left) and parents
Cafe owner Carrie, admitted she initially struggled to accept her only daughter was becoming a boy – but said she just wanted him to be happy.
“When he told me he wanted to have a full sex change I was worried, because it is such a major operation,” said Carrie.
“But I just want him to be happy.”
The pair went to Riley’s GP together, and now the lad is going for counselling, and must live as a boy for a year before he can be referred to a gender identity clinic.
There he will have more counselling and assessments by doctors before receiving hormones to deepen his voice and give him facial hair.
Riley, who starts college next month studying sport, hopes to have a full £10k sex change on the NHS when he turns 18.
Riley will have a sex change when he’s 18
