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Approximately one in 2,000 children is born “intersex” or with variations in sex anatomy that are not easily labeled male or female. Anne Tamar-Mattis, a 2008 Echoing Green Fellow, started Advocates for Informed Choice (AIC) to give voice to those children. Many patients undergo unnecessary repeat surgeries to “normalize” their bodies, resulting in scarring, loss of sexual function, depression, and incontinence. With AIC, Anne has created a unique and critical platform to facilitate communication around an incredibly unknown issue and promote healing in way that has rarely been utilized before. 

AIC’s new project, Resolve, is bringing patients and doctors together in a safe environment, engaging them in dialogue and laying the foundation for communication that can revolutionize not only how the “intersex” community is treated, but how all patients and the medical community interact with each other. By creating a non-confrontational space for doctors to apologize to patients, AIC is perpetuating a healing unlike any medical treatment.

AIC was recently selected by a renowned group of health experts from around the globe as a finalist in Ashoka’s Changemakers Amgen: Patient | Choices | Empowerment competition. Become a part of the changemaking movement and support AIC in this competition to ultimately advance innovation in healthcare.

Here are your action steps:

• Register at http://www.changemakers.com/empower-patient

• Vote for Resolve: Healing the Legacy of Intersex/DSD Treatment

We are incredibly proud that Anne’s groundbreaking innovations are being recognized by another changemaker in the field of social change. Go Anne!