Transgender couple who plan to marry and have children tell others 'don't give up'

Ryan Said and Jasmine Merino fell in love after meeting on Instagram

Jasmine Merino and boyfriend Ryan Said walk hand in hand (YouTube/BarcroftTV)

A transgender couple have revealed how they plan to marry and have children after finding love, and urged others struggling to be accepted for their gender identity to "not give up."

Ryan Said, 24, and Jasmine Merino, 18, found each other on Instagram and spoke on Skype before deciding to meet in person.

“Honestly, I think it was love at first sight,” Mr Said explained.

In a video by Barcroft TV, Mr Said described how his family dismissed his feelings as a phase and sent him to psychiatrists because they thought he was "sick".

However, his family have since accepted him, and he has been using hormone therapy for four years.

Ms Merino, meanwhile, has been undergoing hormone therapy for two years, and said that she likes having a transgender partner because she understands him during “rough times.”

The couple now plan to get married and have children using Mr Said's eggs and Ms Merino's sperm.

"Whoever is going through what we’re going through tell them hold on, don’t give up, talk to someone," said Mr Said.

Mr Said and Ms Merino recalled their story as transgender people have come to mainstream attention, as communities fight for greater acceptance and civil rights.

The latest rights victory saw the UK’s Editors Code of Practice Committee introduce a new ruling which give transgender people the same protection as other minority groups.

The decision came after the newspaper industry regulator, Independent Press Standards Organisation, found that the The Sun had “belittled” and “mocked” blind, transgender Labour Parliamentary candidate Emily Brothers.