Press Play with Madeleine Brand CHLA closes its trans youth health center. What’s next for this patient? Written by Amy Ta, produced by Robin Estrin Aug. 13, 2025 LGBTQ Listen 16 min MORE
A protester holds a sign during a rally over the closure of the Center for Transyouth Health on July 10, 2025. Photo by Megan Jamerson/KCRW.
For 30 years, the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) was one of the country’s oldest and biggest sources of gender-affirming care for trans kids and young adults, offering counseling, puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and surgeries. But it shut down on July 22, following President Trump’s Executive Order and his threat to pull federal funding from hospitals that provide this care to minors. In a statement, CHLA told KCRW that despite its “deeply held commitment” to the community, it was “left with no viable path forward.” That meant 3,000 families had to find health care elsewhere.
KCRW hears from one patient impacted by the change, plus their mom: Matt, 19, and Lesley. Their last names are being withheld to protect their safety.
The family was notified of the shutdown through a text message that included contact info for CHLA’s Patient Relations team and various suicide hotlines.
“I was a little suspicious of them earlier because they had … suspended care for minor patients, and then doubled back on that decision,” Lesley recalls. “But when this text came, I just thought it was very abrupt. … And of course … passport issues were coming up, and the administration was doubling down on all this misinformation and hate towards the community. So it was very scary.”
Though she spent weeks dialing the phone numbers provided in the text, no one answered, she says.
Meanwhile, Matt was scared, shocked, and confused, not knowing where else he’d get his medication or how tough it’d be to receive a new prescription, he says.
At age 3, he already knew he was trans, he says. At this time, Lesley recalls, she didn’t completely understand trans identity, so the family didn’t explore puberty blockers. “I don't think he quite had the words, and I didn't really have the full understanding, which is why I think that education at a young age, in schools, is so important, so that visibility is there for kids like Matt and for people like me who — if I could have done anything differently, I would have saved him the pain of puberty. I would have looked for that kind of care earlier.”
Later, Matt started transitioning socially at 15-16, began hormones at 16, and got top surgery ahead of his 18th birthday.
Lesley says CHLA gave her support on how to parent a trans kid, and when Matt found the words to explain his gender identity, she and her spouse allowed him to dress and style his hair however he wanted.
Over time, Matt grew more comfortable with his own body, he says. He appeared in photos more and started talking more. “Ever since I transitioned, it's just been so much easier for me.”
Without CHLA’s Center for Transyouth, Matt is turning to a new clinic in LA for hormones. He’s also studying computer science in college, and hopes to land a job that will allow him to move out of the U.S. and earn a comfortable income. He’s still living at home with his parents, one gay sibling, and one non-binary sibling. “I guess it's a little dangerous for the entire family,” he says.
All five family members might leave the U.S. Lesley says their short-term plan is to go to Canada. Matt notes that Canada or Europe — anywhere with better LGBTQ protections — would be safer.
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Credits Guests:
- Matt - former CHLA patient
- Lesley - Matt’s mother
Host: Madeleine Brand Producers: Sarah Sweeney, Angie Perrin, Amy Ta, Brian Hardzinski, Robin Estrin, Jack Ross, Nihar Patel
