Lesbian parents can welcome a healthy baby with our expertise and support

If becoming a mother or expanding your family is your dream, you want to work with a fertility clinic you can trust. Fertility Specialists of Texas proudly helps lesbian parents start and grow their families by using donor sperm and treatments ranging from IUI to IVF. In addition to offering effective lesbian fertility treatments, our LGBT fertility clinic also offers patients a wealth of experience and compassionate care.

Exploring the options for lesbian fertility treatments

Single women and lesbian couples can share a biological connection with their children by using donor sperm. In some cases, intrauterine insemination (IUI) with donor sperm is the best path to motherhood. However, women with certain fertility challenges, as well as those who want to share the joy of pregnancy, may want to consider in vitro fertilization (IVF) with donor sperm.

IUI with donor sperm is a simple procedure. This is also one of the most popular lesbian fertility treatments. It involves placing a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) through the vagina and cervix to deposit donor sperm into the uterus. Some women take fertility medications for ovulation during an IUI cycle, while others do a natural cycle.

IVF with donor sperm involves a few more steps. The woman who will provide her eggs will take injectable fertility medications to encourage her body to produce multiple eggs. She then undergoes an outpatient egg retrieval. Laboratory professionals fertilize the retrieved eggs with sperm from the donor. Finally, one of our doctors transfers a resulting embryo to the uterus of the woman who will carry the pregnancy.

Reciprocal IVF is a great option for lesbian parents who both want to play a role in the pregnancy and the birth of their child. One partner will provide her eggs and the other partner will undergo the embryo transfer and carry the pregnancy.

We can help lesbian parents explore their options for sperm donation

Because the quality of donor sperm greatly influences the success of lesbian fertility treatments, it’s important to select the right donor. Our LGBT fertility clinic team helps patients do this by walking them through their options.

Some lesbian parents decide to use a sperm bank, and our team can recommend several reputable options. These sperm banks screen all donor sperm for sexually transmitted infections (STI). They also perform a semen analysis to confirm the quality of the donor sperm.

While the donors from sperm banks are technically anonymous, you will be able to view profiles and photos of each donor. These profiles can help you learn more about the donor’s appearance, education, health, personality and interests so that you can select the best donor for your family.

The other option for selecting a sperm donor is asking a friend or a family member to be your donor. However, keep in mind that the selected sperm donor must not be genetically related to the partner who is providing the eggs for the pregnancy.

When moving forward with a known sperm donor, we recommend following industry guidelines for testing and screening the donor sperm. We also suggest you obtain legal counsel before moving forward with treatment. Doing so helps avoid potential issues with using a known sperm donor.

If you want to take the next step on the path to parenthood, contact our LGBT fertility clinic. We look forward to helping you explore options for lesbian parents.