Fertility Options for Gay Couples
Posted on December 20th, 2017
Gay couples have many options when it comes to building their families, but must use IVF to do so.
There are 3 important decisions to be made:
- Sperm: Which partner will provide the sperm? Sometimes this is determined by sperm count, and other times the couple will have a preference. You also have the option to both provide sperm to each fertilize half the eggs and have the transferred embryo chosen deliberately, or randomly.
- Egg: You will need to select an egg donor. This can be a special family member or close friend, or you can work with our team to choose an anonymous donor.
- Gestational carrier: Finally, you’ll need to select a woman to carry the pregnancy. Again, this can be someone you know, or we can help you find a surrogacy agency to find a carrier.
The wonderful thing is that you can customize your treatment to exactly what you want. A few options?
- Some couples use the sperm of one partner and the egg of a family member of the other partner. This allows the couple to blend the genetics of both of their families.
- Other couples both contribute sperm and use an anonymous egg donor. They then transfer a random embryo (not knowing who the genetic father is).
- You can select an anonymous egg donor but use a very close friend as your gestational carrier, or the other way around: use a known egg donor, but work with an agency carrier.
One important factor you should consider is how open you’ll be with your child about their conception story. Do you want your child to know their egg donor or carrier? How will that be received in your families?
We encourage you to reach out and speak with your Aspire team about these and all of the other potential issues and options. We look forward to helping you build your family!
