A judge in Barcelona is set to be the first in Spain to rule on whether a minor is to be permitted to undergo a sex change operation.
Spanish law allows such a procedure to be carried out providing there is legal authorisation.
The boy in question, who is 16 years old, has been undergoing psychological and hormonal treatment for the past eighteen months. He was taken to the Gender Disorder Unit of the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona by his family, but although there was certainty amongst medical experts that this procedure was the correct way forward in this case, requests for surgery were denied.
It is now up to the judge to decide. If approved, the operation would take place at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona.