A domestic staff member at Queen’s Hospital says she was disowned from her family after telling them about her plans to transition.

Marina Page, who helps to keep Queen’s Hospital clean, opened up about her experience as a transgender person to celebrate her contributions as part of International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31).

She also used the platform to discuss how she was shunned from her family, to the extend that she was barred to visit her mother’s funeral.

She said: “I’d been to Sparkle, a transgender weekend, and had been able to be Marina for all of that time. At the end of the weekend, I decided to be her full time so when I got back, I told my parents.

“Sadly they were not supportive and both disowned me. It was no surprise to me. In 2015, my mum died suddenly and I compromised and asked to attend her funeral in my birth name. I received a text barring me from the funeral and I no longer speak to my dad or sister.”

But despite losing touch with her family, she managed to find a new family through work at the hospital.

“I explained my decision to change my name and transition which was really liberating and scary at the same time. Some were shocked but everyone was very supportive,” she said.

She added: “The next day, I came to work dressed as Marina for the first time. I was delighted to receive my new Marina name badge the following week. I have been Marina ever since and everyone in the hospital has respected this. I started my permanent transition in August 2015 and changed my name by deed poll, it felt brilliant.”

Having grown up feeling different, it was only in 2014 when she came across Jazz Jennings, a transgender woman on YouTube, that she noticed similarities and began exploring transgender identity.

Now she says she is happier than she was five years ago, “because finally I’m myself”.