A transgender woman hopes members of the public will help raise thousands of pounds to complete her transformation, after claiming she has been let down by delays on the NHS.

Karen S.J. Clark, from Dental Street in Hythe, decided to take matters into her own hands after repeated delays to treatment which she says is preventing her living her new life to the full.

She says that despite waiting for 18 months to begin her life-changing surgery on the NHS, she has now been told she will have to start the referral process all over again.

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So she has taken to Go Fund Me in a bid to raise £6,000 under the title ‘Help Karen SJ Clark get boobies’.

Ms Clark, 36, who volunteers at a town centre charity shop, said she first realised she was different when she was aged five and she saw drag queen Ru Paul on the television.

She said: “When the concept was explained to me it seemed to make sense but while I was growing up I tried to push that to one side through fear and through peer pressure.

“I first went to see my GP when I was about 21 but she just laughed at me. I remember leaving the surgery in tears. That’s why I boxed it all back up again.”

VIDEO: Karen describes her struggle

When she was 19, she met her ex-partner and fathered two sons, now aged 17 and ten, during a 14-year long relationship.

But after breaking up with her ex-partner on amicable terms four years ago, she said it was time to answer the unanswered questions about who she felt she was by talking with family and friends.

She said: “I thought I could be opening can of worms but I couldn’t leave the question unanswered, I had to find out about myself.”

Then 18 months ago, she found a GP to support her and was referred to two psychologists in order to get a referral to the Gender Identity Clinic in London.

She began the process of changing her name and living in the identity of Karen, and she went for a patch test and for initial laser treatments to remove facial hair.

But she found out that she didn’t need to be referred to psychologists and then also found that her referral at the Gender Identity Clinic had not been received.

It means that she had to reapply to the waiting list, prolonging her treatment for another year.

"It was soul crushing. The stress of the NHS has been worse than the stress of the actual change" - Karen S.J. Clark

She said: “It was soul crushing. The stress of the NHS has been worse than the stress of the actual change.

“I’ve gone through the social transition and changed my name, so there is a lot of anxiety and apprehension about it, even getting on a bus is hard work.

“So when I got a letter to say after 18 months of waiting that they didn’t have any of my paperwork it really scared me.”

A spokesman for the West London Mental Health Trust, which is handling Karen’s transition, said the trust won’t comment on individual cases.

In a statement the spokesman said: “Referrals to the service are increasing by 20% each year for people seeking advice and treatment for gender dysphoria.

“Waiting times for first appointments are around 12 months from the initial referral and our NHS commissioners recently invested new resources to increase clinical capacity to meet the growing demand for these services.”

On the website the trust said more administrative staff are being appointed and a new telephone system introduced to help patients.

A statement on the website said: “We are aware of the difficulties that some patients are experiencing in communicating with the clinic and we offer our sincere apologies for any delays you may have experienced.”

To find out more about Karen’s fundraising page, visit www.gofundme.com/boobs-for-ksjc