To our global community: we have an important update about the future of Point of Pride’s Annual Trans Surgery Fund.
Beginning with the 2027 application cycle (which will accept applications November 1–30, 2026), the Annual Trans Surgery Fund will no longer accept applications from individuals who live outside the United States.
This was not a decision we made lightly.
For the last ten years, we've had the privilege of supporting trans people around the world in accessing life-saving gender-affirming surgery. We know how much the need for this kind of financial support extends far beyond US borders.
Our staff feels a deep responsibility to ensure that every grant we award can be delivered safely and responsibly. We've reached a point where we can no longer reliably keep that promise to our international applicants.
Over the past several years, we've encountered an increasing number of legal, logistical, and safety-related barriers that have made it extremely difficult—and in some cases impossible—to successfully award our grants to international recipients.
These challenges aren't about a lack of determination on the part of our recipients. In every case, our recipients have shown extraordinary resilience. Rather, these experiences highlight how quickly international laws, travel policies, and healthcare systems can change and how difficult it has become for a small nonprofit to responsibly navigate those complexities on behalf of people living around the world.
One of our current recipients, Mithran, has spent months trying to obtain a passport so they can travel from India to the United States for surgery. Because of the legal and bureaucratic requirements surrounding name and gender marker changes in their country, continuing the process now poses significant risks to their personal safety, leaving them to choose between protecting themselves and continuing toward the surgery they were awarded.
Another recipient, Mandy, lives in Saudi Arabia, where she has faced immense challenges accessing gender-affirming care. She has experienced job discrimination, financial instability, and significant legal risks simply because she is a transgender woman. After years of saving for surgery, she lost those savings due to war and displacement. Then, after being awarded a grant as part of our 2025 Surgery Fund cohort, changing international travel restrictions ultimately made it impossible for her to enter the US at all. As a result, she is unable to use her grant, and there is currently no clear timeline for when—or if—that opportunity will become possible again.
These are not isolated situations. Increasingly, our international recipients tell us they are afraid to travel to the US at all. Many worry that their passports or other travel documents no longer match their appearance or gender presentation, creating uncertainty and potential safety risks while crossing international borders. Others have shared concerns about changing immigration policies and heightened enforcement, making an already stressful journey feel even more uncertain.
Our team has spent countless hours researching international regulations, consulting with partner organizations, and working alongside recipients to navigate these challenges. We have done everything we can to make these grants possible.
At the same time, we've had to acknowledge the limits of what a small nonprofit can responsibly provide. Many of the situations our recipients face require specialized legal, immigration, and country-specific expertise that extends far beyond our organization's capacity.
We also recognize that the US isn't as safe as it once was for international travelers, especially those whose travel documents may not match their appearance or gender presentation, creating additional risks and friction while entering, leaving, or traveling within the US. At the same time, travelers from outside the US may not be fully aware of the risks associated with traveling here, and we aren't always equipped to understand or anticipate the legal or safety considerations they may face upon returning home, either. These are deeply personal, country-specific circumstances that require expertise beyond what our staff can provide.
We recognize that some folks may wonder why we don't simply allow recipients to receive surgery closer to home. For many of our international recipients, there isn't a closer option. Most live in countries where gender-affirming healthcare is prohibited or inaccessible due to discrimination/violence, cost, or a lack of competent providers. Unfortunately, the same barriers that make travel necessary in the first place have increasingly made that travel unsafe.
We know this eligibility change will be disappointing for members of our global community who have looked to Point of Pride for support accessing surgery. We share that disappointment.
Our mission has always been rooted in expanding access to gender-affirming care, and narrowing eligibility is never the outcome we hope for. At the same time, we believe it's important to be transparent about the realities we're navigating rather than offer false hope to applicants we may not be able to serve.
This decision reflects the current landscape, not our long-term vision. If and when we're able to responsibly support international surgery applicants again, we'll be eager to revisit this decision. Until then, we're exploring other ways Point of Pride can better support trans people living outside the United States.
Thank you for your understanding and trust as we continue adapting our programs to best serve our community in an ever-changing landscape.