Surrogacy Options for Gay Couples

Choosing the woman who will carry your child is an exciting prospect. This step in the family-building process will initiate a conversation about surrogacy options for gay couples. Innovative Fertility Center connects men with trusted resources that fill a gap in their plans to become fathers. Surrogacy agencies and egg banks work in tandem with our fertility center to complete egg donation IVF for gay men.

You have two options to consider as you prepare for third-party reproduction. Dr. Mark Rispler and Dr. Joshua J. Berger detail the logistics and advantages of each fertility treatment option, including IUI and IVF. Our board certified reproductive endocrinologist will direct the medical treatment phases of the surrogacy process.

Defining the terms: What is traditional surrogacy?

When the woman who carries your child has also provided the oocyte (egg), she shares a biological connection. In terms of biology and fertility treatment, this is the simplest option. A fertility center would schedule semen analysis, collect a sperm sample, verify screening results for the female partner and arrange for intrauterine insemination, IUI.

With IUI, the doctor inserts a thin catheter into the uterus and injects washed and prepared sperm while a woman is ovulating. As simple as it sounds, traditional surrogacy can add an element of emotional complexity when the woman carrying the child is also the egg donor.

Today’s preferred treatment is gestational surrogacy

Unlike traditional surrogacy, a gestational surrogate does not share a biological connection—her DNA—with the baby. Your fertility specialist will oversee a process in which an egg donor participates in the IVF cycle, synching her menstrual cycle with that of the surrogate. We can also utilize frozen eggs and eliminate the need for synchronized cycles.

While the egg donor undergoes ovulation induction to ensure that she has mature oocytes ready for retrieval, the gestational surrogate will have taken fertility medications, estrogen and progesterone, to prepare her uterine lining to receive the transferred embryo(s).

The perfectly timed IVF cycle takes approximately four weeks to complete, and then we wait for the pregnancy test to confirm success.

IVF has made pregnancy possible for men and women with significant barriers to overcome, including serious sperm disorders, blocked fallopian tubes and recurrent miscarriage. Surrogacy options for gay couples will always involve this established and proven fertility treatment.

Choosing a surrogate and an egg donor will require emotional fortitude, but will likely be remembered as one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. Contact us at Innovative Fertility Center to learn more about our experience with third-party reproduction and surrogacy options for gay couples and singles.