First Fertility strives to help all types of families grow and achieve their family-building dreams, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. Whether LGBTQ+ individuals want to grow their families now or preserve their fertility to have children in the future, our board-certified reproductive endocrinologists are here to help.
First Fertility has fertility centers across the United States, each with its own local and state laws around fertility treatments and family-building for LGBTQ+ people. Our fertility specialists have experience working with LGBTQ+ individuals to help them navigate these laws and explore their options for growing their families within them.
We consider both the legal and emotional aspects of family-building when working with our LGBTQ+ families and recommend resources that can help our patients make informed decisions about their treatment options.
Every patient, whether they are heterosexual or LGBTQ+, undergoes fertility testing at First Fertility. Fertility testing provides our fertility specialists with important information that they can use to craft a personalized fertility treatment plan.
Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) help many LGBTQ+ individuals grow their families. These advanced procedures often involve prepping sperm, eggs, or an embryo in a state-of-the-art lab before transferring them into the uterus for implantation. Some of the common ARTs include:
IUI is a fertility treatment that involves preparing and selecting the most motile sperm in a lab and injecting them into the uterus using a flexible catheter. This minimally invasive procedure can be completed in the office and only takes a few minutes.
IVF is an ART during which an egg is fertilized with sperm outside the body in our lab. Through a few procedures, mature eggs are extracted, fertilized with sperm, and transferred into the uterus.
Reciprocal IVF allows both women in a relationship to participate in the process. One woman can provide the eggs, while the other can carry the pregnancy.
ARTs can use donor eggs or sperm in order to help LGBTQ+ people grow their families. Every donor is vetted thoroughly to ensure that they are a good candidate for donation. Some of our fertility centers have egg donation programs, while others can help our patients find an agency that meets their needs. Note that our clinics do not accept sperm donations, but can help patients obtain donor sperm.
Some LGBTQ+ people may need a surrogate, or a gestational carrier, to help grow their families. Depending on state or local laws, our fertility specialists can help them find a surrogacy program to help them build their families.
There are many reasons that people choose to preserve their fertility, including transitioning. Transgender people who medically transition may wish to have children biologically after transitioning, and cryopreservation can help.
Cisgender and transgender individuals have the option of cryopreservation, which is egg, sperm, or embryo freezing. When they are ready to grow their family, the eggs, sperm, or embryo are thawed and used in combination with assisted reproductive technologies like IVF or IUI.
The entire First Fertility network is proud to support LGBTQ+ individuals who want to grow their families. Each location that is part of First Fertility can help LGBTQ+ people navigate the local and state laws around LGBTQ+ family building and provide personalized fertility treatments. Find a location near you to learn more about our LGBTQ+ family-building services today.
