A transgender woman has revealed she had her sperm frozen while she was still a man so that she can father a child in the future.

Lea Membrey, 20, visited the sperm bank three times before she began taking female hormones so that she can still become a biological father.

The 20-year-old from Auckland, New Zealand, started her transition in July 2015 and has since spent more than £5,200 on her new body including breast implants, lip fillers, botox injections and laser hair removal.

Her hormones are now at the same level as a biological woman and she intends to have gender reassignment in the future.

Lea hopes to father a child in the future (

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Caters)

In the meantime, she plans to continue to change her outward appearance, including getting her jaw and brow bone shaved.

Although she does not want to have children anytime soon when she does she wants them to be naturally hers.

Lea, who is hoping to become a communications students, said: "I definitely want to have kids within the next ten years and having a child that is biologically mine is so important to me.

"Although I don't want children anytime soon I do want them to be naturally mine. I think it is incredible to know I can still have a baby that is half my DNA .

"I had to bank the sperm before I started intensive hormone treatments because once you begin that your male organs eventually stop working altogether.

Lea decided she wanted to become transgender after meeting a trans woman at a party (

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Caters News Agency)

"Now, nearly two years after I started the hormones, my testosterone is undetectable - I'm at the same level as a biological woman."

Lea, who was bullied at school for being gay, said her perceptions changed about transgender people when she met a 'gorgeous' trans woman at a party.

She said it was then that she realised that she also wanted to be transgender.

"I used to just say to people that I was gay because it was obvious that I was different to other boys at school," she added.

The 20-year-old hopes to undergo full reassignment surgery in the future (

Image:

Caters)

"At a party, I just couldn't believe it when one of these drop-dead gorgeous girls told me that she used to be male.

"That totally blew my mind and it was such a defining moment for me.

"I never thought a trans woman could look that good. I thought, 'oh my god. This is who I am meant to be. This is what I want'.

"It certainly wasn't an instant decision. All these thoughts kept running through my mind like 'am I feminine enough?' or 'am I really transgender?'.

"The longer I waited the harder it would be because I would just look more and more masculine as time went on and the more difficult it would be to be able to look like a woman.

But first she is planning on making more changes to her outward appearance (

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Caters)

"It was now or never - so I just went for it and I haven't looked back."

She said she is now happier than ever and she no longer has to hide who she is.

"I love being able to look at myself in the mirror when I'm naked and not seeing a man's flat chest," she continued.

"I do see myself getting the full surgery but that's not a priority for me right now.

"What's most important for me is being able go outside today and wholeheartedly be seen as a female.

"I get a lot of people saying to me 'you shouldn't have got your boob job, you should have got the sex change surgery first' but I feel like my boob job has made people see me as a female.

"I'd rather go out of the house and look really natural and be happy knowing that I'm 100 per cent female."

She added: "My life is actually liveable now and I don't have to deny who I am anymore.

"I am who I am supposed to be and I could never go back to being male.

"You have to embrace your true self because at the end of the day, it's your life and your happiness."