At Manchester Fertility, we are dedicated to supporting and guiding our patients on their unique fertility journeys. As an award-winning clinic with over 35 years of experience, we provide exceptional care to everyone, regardless of gender, relationship status, or sexual orientation.
Our patient experience combines compassion, medical advice, and legal guidance tailored to each individual’s circumstances. We proudly serve a significant number of LGBT+ patients, offering treatments such as donor sperm insemination, shared motherhood, surrogacy, and egg or sperm freezing.
Our involvement in events like Pride and The Modern Family Show, and partnerships with organisations like TwoDadsUK, My Surrogacy Journey and LGBT Mummies, underscores our commitment to the LGBT+ community.
This blog explores the treatments and services available to LGBT+ individuals looking to start or grow their families.
LGBT + Treatments
We offer many treatments and services to support you wherever you are in your fertility journey.
- In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) with Donor Sperm
- Shared Motherhood
- Donor Insemination
- Surrogacy
- Egg and Sperm Freezing
In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
For same-sex couples and individuals, traditional conception methods are often not viable, making IVF a crucial pathway to achieving their dreams of having children. IVF allows for the combination of genetic material from one partner with a donor egg or sperm, depending on the couple's or individual's needs, enabling them to create a family that is biologically connected to them.
IVF provides a flexible and inclusive approach to family building. For lesbian couples, IVF allows different options. Traditional IVF, where a patient in a female same-sex relationship or a single female undergoes treatment with the sperm of a donor or Shared Motherhood, where one partner carries the pregnancy using an embryo created with donor sperm and the egg of the other partner, fostering a deep biological and emotional connection.
Similarly, gay couples can utilise a surrogate to carry an embryo created with donor eggs and one or both partner's sperm, allowing them to experience the joys of parenthood.
Shared Motherhood
Shared Motherhood, also known as reciprocal IVF, is a popular method of assisted fertility for same-sex female couples and those who are non-binary or transgender but have not yet medically transitioned, as it allows both partners to share in the joy of creating a family.
The reason for its growing popularity is that both partners are able to have a biological link to the child, as one partner will act as an egg donor to the other. As a variation of traditional IVF treatment, Shared Motherhood uses the same procedures as standard IVF. The key difference is that the embryo is implanted into the uterus of the partner so that they can carry their child to term.
It also allows the partner acting as the egg donor to feel connected genetically to their child, while their partner can form a bond throughout the pregnancy.
Donor Sperm Insemination or IUI
If you are a same-sex female couple or require a sperm donor, you might want to consider IUI using donor sperm. IUI – otherwise known as Intrauterine Insemination or Donor Insemination – is a type of fertility treatment that encourages pregnancy by placing donor sperm into your uterus around the same time you naturally ovulate, which mimics natural conception.
IUI is very popular with same-sex female couples for many reasons:
- IUI is more cost effective than traditional IVF or Shared Motherhood.
- The patient undergoing treatment does not often have to take fertility medication to stimulate egg growth, and the procedure is less invasive than other treatments.
- A typical cycle can take as little as four weeks, and you can take a pregnancy test two weeks later.
At Manchester Fertility, we can offer you immediate access to traceable and health-screened UK sperm donors from our own sperm donor bank.
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is becoming an increasingly accessible fertility treatment for those who otherwise could not carry a pregnancy. This includes but is not limited to same-sex male couples and many queer or transgender people.
Through our partnerships with TwoDadsUK® and My Surrogacy Journey, we are proud to offer an enhanced treatment plan with access to improved resources and advice from those with lived experience of the surrogacy process.
As the Northern & Midlands Centre for Excellence for Surrogacy, we can tailor your treatment plan depending on whether you have embryos already in storage, you require donor eggs for treatment, and/or treatment to create embryos for your surrogate to carry. Learn more about our surrogacy offering on our surrogacy treatment page.
Egg & Sperm Freezing
Egg and sperm freezing involves collecting a person's eggs or sperm to freeze and store, and then thawing them later to be used in fertility treatment.
Many people whose gender identity doesn't align with their biological sex assigned at birth may consider freezing their eggs or sperm if they decide to undergo any form of gender-affirming treatment that may limit their chances of having a genetic link to a child now or in the future.
Although starting a family may not be a priority at that moment, freezing gametes can be an excellent way to ensure you can still start a family when you are ready to.
If you are considering starting a family or preserving your fertility for the future, you can speak with a member of our team today at 0161 300 2737 or book a free 1-2-1 Discovery Appointment via our website.
Last updated: 3rd June 2024
