Hi! we're the THN, a network of trans people based in Ireland and the Netherlands, who provide info and advice for people who are self medding. We’re trying to raise money to get a spectrometer, a piece of equipment that we can use to test medication to make sure its safe.

Over the past few years trans healthcare has been becoming more inaccessible, with waiting times getting longer and longer. This has led many trans people to take the DIY route, ordering hormones online. We’ve been trying to get some of this medication tested in a lab. Unfortunately, lab testing is expensive and can cost as much as 300 euro to have one sample sent in and tested.

With your help, we can get a spectrometer. A piece of equipment that will allow us to see exactly what chemicals are present in a given sample, and whether they contain the levels of Estrogen or Testosterone that they say they do. We’re planning to work together with other trans harm reduction groups, and periodically test some of the more popular DIY sources, and publicly publish the results.

Until trans healthcare is made properly safe and accessible, people will be forced to DIY. But at least as a community we can work together to make this as safe as it can be.