Differences in sex development
Overview
Differences in sex development (DSD) is a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs, including genitals. It means a person's sex development is different to most other people's.
Causes
You or your child may have sex chromosomes (bundles of genes) usually associated with being female (XX chromosomes) or usually associated with being male (XY chromosomes), but reproductive organs and genitals that may look different from usual. This happens because of a difference with your genes or how you respond to the sex hormones in your body, or both. It can be inherited, but there is often no clear reason why it happens. The most common times to find out that a person has a DSD are around the time of their birth or when they're a teenager.