Fertility Guide for female couples

Fertility Guide for female couples

LGBTQ+ family expertise, to help you have a baby together.

We are a specialist LGBTQ+ fertility clinic, helping women across our LGBTQ+ communities to have families together.

We provide dedicated, personalised treatment for your best chance of pregnancy, with support and understanding that meets your unique needs.

Your options for treatment are:

Treatment with UK donor sperm

There is no need to rely on unregulated sperm sources or attempt ‘at home’ insemination if you want to have baby.

Our expert fertility specialists can help you conceive, using donor sperm from our Semovo sperm bank. All our sperm donors are HFEA registered and fully identifiable to your child in future. You can also find out about donor siblings.

If treatment is successful, you can opt to reserve sperm from your chosen donor, giving you the chance to have a sibling in the future.

Our donor sperm bank
Treatment with UK donor sperm

Treatment options for female couples

Natural cycle donor sperm insemination

Sperm will be inserted into your uterus at the time you naturally ovulate, in the hope that pregnancy occurs. 

Stimulated cycle donor sperm insemination

If you have an irregular menstrual cycle or ovulation issues, we can use fertility medications performing insemination.

Partner IVF

Partner IVF allows both of you to be physically involved in the creation and birth of your baby. It is the same process as IVF but uses the eggs of one of you to create the embryo, whilst the other partner has the embryo transfer, carries the baby and gives birth.

IVF with donor sperm

We will use donor sperm to fertilise your eggs in our laboratory. The best embryo with the highest potential for pregnancy will be selected for transfer. Any good quality remaining embryos can be stored by us for future treatment.

Choice of UK sperm donors

Our sperm donors have the highest quality sperm and are identifiable to your child in future, completing detailed profiles including a personal pen portrait and goodwill message.

IVF with donor eggs and donor sperm

If you are an older female couple or there is a reason why your own eggs cannot be used in treatment, you can have IVF with donor eggs as well as donor sperm. We have UK donor eggs ready to help you now.

IVF or donor sperm insemination?

We will perform comprehensive fertility tests at the start of your journey, which assess key things such as ovarian reserve and hormone levels, to identify whether IVF or insemination is best for you.

IVF or donor sperm insemination?

Learning Centre

Our Learning Centre is your online fertility resource. Browse our blogs to find out more about our LGBT expertise and treatments.

Learning Centre
Learning Centre
How can I get an appointment with Manchester Fertility?

You do not need a referral for an appointment with us. You can self-refer.

How do we find the best fertility clinic for us?

Firstly visit the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s website (HFEA) for a list of registered clinics local to you. Then ring up the fertility clinic and ask for brochures or information, or visit the clinic’s website. Don’t be afraid to go and tour the clinic. At Manchester Fertility you can book in for an informal, free 'one-to-one' appointment so that you can come and visit us, our friendly team will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.

How much does IVF or fertility treatment cost?

IVF costs vary depending on which clinic you choose. You will need to pay for the initial consultation, any pre-treatment tests or scans, and then for the actual treatment itself and any necessary medications. For more details, see our prices page

I’m in a same-sex relationship and we would like to have a family. Can you help us?

Yes, we welcome many same-sex couples through our doors for pregnancy help, in fact we have a great reputation for it - whether you need treatment with donor sperm or donor eggs. For information about the fertility treatments we offer to help you, visit our donation section

I already have a child but I am having problems getting pregnant again. Is there something wrong with me?

Secondary infertility – the inability to have a second or third child despite have a successful pregnancy before – is not uncommon. But you may be worrying over nothing. Remember, infertility isn’t defined until you have been having regular, unprotected intercourse for up to two years without falling pregnant, so it could just be that this time it’s taking longer than before to conceive. Your age could also be a factor, remember that fertility starts to decline from age 30 onwards and even more so from age 35. But if you think you need fertility help, don’t hesitate seeing your GP or contact us,

Can I get IVF treatment on the NHS?

The provision of IVF treatment varies across the country, and often depends on local NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) policies.

ICBs may have additional criteria you need to meet before you can have IVF on the NHS, such as:

  • not having any children already, from both your current and any previous relationships
  • being a healthy weight
  • not smoking
  • falling into a certain age range (for example, some ICBs only fund treatment for women under 35)

Ask your GP or contact your local integrated care board (ICB) to find out whether NHS-funded IVF treatment is available in your area.

Do you offer fertility treatment via the NHS?

No, we do not offer fertility treatment on the NHS as we are a wholly private fertility clinic. However certain Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will consider allowing you to transfer the funding for your NHS IVF cycles to us. If you’re eligible for fertility treatment on the NHS, you may be able to Transferring your NHS funded IVF treatment unit but would firstly need to discuss this with your CCG.  More information can be found from Fertility Network UK.

I want to get pregnant but I’m over 40 years of age, can you help me conceive?

Yes. However, you need to consider the fact that live birth rates for older women in their mid-40s, who wish to use their own eggs to conceive, is generally extremely low. Your options will include ovarian stimulation, and intrauterine insemination or IVF. Dependent upon your individual case, you may need to consider using donor eggs to get pregnant. For more details, call us on 0161 300 2737. You can also read our Guide for Women over 40.

What hours are you open?

Being flexible with our opening times is vital for our patients at Manchester Fertility. We always aim to see you at times convenient to you. Our current opening times are shown on our contact page. You will always see the most appropriate staff member for your needs.

What is the EmbryoGlue Treatment you offer?

EmbryoGlue is not a treatment we charge extra for – we use it as a supplement to the culture media used in the development of your embryo in our laboratory. We started using it because studies have shown it helps improve the chances of pregnancy by encouraging your embryo to implant successfully. It is a culture medium that mimics the natural molecules and fluids you’d find in your own body if you were going through pregnancy naturally.

Your embryo is placed into the EmbryoGlue just prior to transfer – and the properties it contains helps the embryo ‘stick’ to your uterus. Once an embryo transfer is carried out, we can never guarantee it will successfully implant for pregnancy – but 13 separate studies have concluded that the use of EmbryoGlue, thanks to its high levels of hyaluronan, increases both clinical pregnancy rates and live births. And so we now use EmbryoGlue for all embryo transfers at no extra cost to you. For more information about EmbryoGlue, you can visit this link.

"We just can’t thank you all enough."

Jenny and Martin, Jan 2019