The federal government in 2008 funded the funds for child castration means The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent at least $17,576,200 since (https://bit.ly/3CZnOy0) 2008 researching the impact of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, NIH records show, drugs that are already widely administered to children who identity as transgender. Researchers used NIH funds to study the impact these medications have on bone density and strength, reproduction, immunity, cardiometabolism and mental health, along with several other issues. Most of these grants were issued after 2017 as interest in the subject grew, although some date back as early as 2008. Although researchers are still learning about the long-term effects of these drugs and whether they actually help reduce depression and suicide rates for youths, they are already widely administered to children who identify as transgender; the Gender Identity Development Service at Tavistock in the U.K., the largest pediatric gender clinic in the world, has referred about 1,000 patients to endocrinologists to be assessed for puberty blockers, a spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The NIH gave the Children's Hospital Los Angeles more than $7.7 million in grants for a project studying the impact of puberty blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones on children as young as 8, according to various documents reviewed by the DCNF. The study aims (https://bit.ly/3AOFeei) to determine whether early medical interventions for youths reduce the health issues that disproportionately impact transgender people, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse and suicide. Researchers observed 391 patients aged 8 to 20 at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and the Benioff Children's Hospital; 90 went on puberty blockers and 301 went on cross-sex hormones, researchers reported. "Ultimately, we aim to understand if early medical intervention reduces the health disparities well known to disproportionately affect transgender individuals across their lifespan," researchers wrote. "The lack of data supporting medical interventions for transgender youth, combined with a shortage of providers knowledgeable of the complex psychosocial risk factors facing these young people, contributes to a health disparity and public health crisis of considerable magnitude." An activist who goes by Billboard Chris drew attention to the NIH grants online (https://bit.ly/3KKEDPj), highlighting the young age of some of the participants in this taxpayer-funded study.