Jo’s Gender-Affirming Top Surgery Fund

Hello! My name is Jo (they/them) and I am a 25 year old nonbinary recent graduate from SUNY Purchase College with a Bachelors in sociology and a minor in environmental studies. I work full time at a day habilitation program as a direct support professional for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and I am extremely passionate about accessibility and equity for people with disabilities.

I am finally getting gender affirming top surgery on May 29th, 2025 after many years of anticipation and longing—I can’t wait to get this load off my chest!

I am fortunate enough to have the majority of my surgery approved to be covered by insurance as it is deemed medically necessary. Unfortunately, my insurance provider refuses to cover the cost of my nipples and considers free nipple grafting/ reconstruction (the part of top surgery where the nipple is fully removed, resized and reshaped, and reattached as a skin graft) “cosmetic and not medically necessary”. While we know that this is illogical–the main purpose of top surgery/ chest masculinization is to create a “normal male chest appearance,” which would typically include two nipples–there is no way around this. Because of this, I am faced with a $2,000 bill for my free nipple grafts which needs to be paid in full prior to my surgery.

To be real, I am not at a place in life where I can comfortably drop $2,000 AND lose a minimum of two weeks worth of pay for post-op recovery without batting an eye, alongside the additional costs of multiple pre-op and post-op appointments, travel costs, hospital parking fees, medical supplies, and medications. I am disabled and have an ultra-rare genetic mutation that affects my connective tissues and causes significant issues across all systems of my body, and because of this, I have to get surgical clearance from multiple specialists (cardiology, pulmonology, hematology, etc) alongside the general clearance I need from my primary doctor all prior to my surgery. Additionally, I have a surgically-placed internal heart monitor that needs to be removed prior to my top surgery as per my surgeon’s orders. For these reasons, I have placed my fundraising goal at $3,000 to cover the nipples and copays related to my pre and post-op appointments.

If you made it this far, I am so grateful for your consideration or any support that you are able to provide. I appreciate you, allies and fellow transfolk! Thank you a million, and remember, we keep us safe (: