LGBTQ+ couples and transgender people can face very different challenges when looking to have a family. There are various routes to becoming a parent. This blog will explore some options available.
Information for transgender individuals seeking fertility treatment. When seeking treatment for body dysphoria, thinking about future fertility might not seem important. But being aware of the options available can be very helpful, especially as medical treatment with hormones or surgery may prevent a person having a biological family. Hormone therapy overtime will reduce fertility. Some people have stopped their hormone therapy and have had their fertility restored, but there is no guarantee. Some people value the option to think about freezing their eggs, sperm or embryos, before starting hormones or having surgery. In the UK this is not always funded by the NHS and can depend in which area the person lives.
Sperm donation. Sperm can be donated by a friend or an anonymous donor. Anonymous donors are usually via a fertility clinic and these donors have many health checks. Physical attributes can be chosen to match the intended parents. Donors can also be known to the intended parents and be introduced to the clinic providing the care. Sometimes donation will be a private arrangement between friends and take place at home. Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is commonly used by either single women, female couples but also heterosexual couples. It is also a treatment for people not able to have intercourse eg due to physical or psychological reasons, and also applicable to transgender individuals wanting to start a family. The best sperm are prepared and introduced in to the uterus (womb). It is less expensive and less invasive than IVF. When this takes place in a clinic, the ovaries are often stimulated to improve egg production and so improve pregnancy chances. This is often the initial route of treatment for female couples. In the UK female couples have to self fund 6 cycles of treatment before being referred into the NHS for further assessment.
Egg donation. This can be for a single person or couple if they do not produce their own eggs. It can also be used if there is risk of passing on an inherited condition to a baby, regardless a couples gender identity. Reciprocal IVF can take place for a same sex female couple. One partner’s eggs are harvested and fertilized with donor sperm, then the embryo(s) implanted in the other female partner.
Surrogacy. This is the most common way for a couple in a male same sex relationship to have a baby. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate is the biological mother. Gestational surrogacy involves more people. The carrier, who will be pregnant, the donor of either egg, sperm or both, and the intended parents. One of the parents is often the genetic father of the baby. The egg donor goes through the process of IVF to harvest the eggs. After fertilization the embryo is implanted into the surrogate. A couple may chose this if they have had gender reassignment, but where one is still biologically able to carry a baby, for example a transgender individual who still has a uterus.
Fostering and adoption. There is no discrimination for same sex or LGBTQ+ couples or individuals who wish to foster or adopt. Application to adopt or foster in the UK is via the local authority and you have to be over 21 and able to provide a permanent, stable and caring home. A detailed assessment is carried out with a social worker.
Further information can be obtained from the following sites:
Fertility treatment for LGBT+ people | HFEA
Having a baby if you are LGBT+ – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Fertility – Somerset Early Scans
At Somerset Early Scans, our Bridgwater clinic is the Somerset Satellite Clinic for the Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine. If you live in Taunton, Bridgwater, Wellington, Wells, Glastonbury, Yeovil and the surrounding areas our fertility clinic has been designed to help reduce the stress of IVF treatment. Please visit our website for more information.