LGBTQ+ & family building

For same-sex female couples and single women: donor-sperm IUI, IVF with donor sperm, and reciprocal IVF where one partner provides the eggs and the other carries the pregnancy. For same-sex male couples and single men: egg donation combined with a gestational carrier. For trans and non-binary patients: fertility preservation before or after transition, and the full range of treatments as appropriate.

In reciprocal IVF (sometimes called co-IVF or shared motherhood), one partner provides the eggs through an IVF retrieval, the eggs are fertilized with donor sperm, and the resulting embryo is transferred to the other partner, who carries the pregnancy. Both partners participate biologically in family building. Many couples find the process deeply meaningful.

You choose a donor from a licensed sperm bank (open-identity, anonymous, or known donor), we coordinate shipment and thawing, and we time insemination to your ovulation — either in a natural cycle or with medication to stimulate ovulation. IUI takes about five minutes in the office and is one of the most common paths for same-sex female couples and single women.

Most patients work with a licensed sperm bank. You can filter by physical characteristics, education, ethnicity, medical history, and whether the donor is open-identity (accessible to the child at 18) or anonymous. Open-identity is now recommended by most fertility mental-health specialists given at-home DNA testing has made true anonymity increasingly hard to guarantee.

New York recognizes the legal parentage of both partners in a marriage or civil union at birth for children conceived through assisted reproduction. Second-parent adoption or a court order confirming parentage is still recommended for many families to protect parental rights across state lines. We work with experienced LGBTQ+-family attorneys who handle this.

Yes — through egg donation combined with gestational surrogacy. Some two-dad families choose to have both partners fertilize different eggs from the same donor, producing embryos with each partner's genetics; families make personal decisions about which embryo is transferred first and how to structure a potential second child.

Yes. This includes fertility preservation before hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgery, and fertility care after transition when appropriate. Care is medically individualized and language, forms, and clinical processes are gender-affirming throughout.

Insurance coverage for LGBTQ+ fertility care has improved but remains inconsistent. New York State's 2020 mandate broadened coverage, and many large employers now include inclusive fertility benefits regardless of medical infertility diagnosis. We verify your specific benefits before treatment.

No. We treat single parents by choice and unmarried couples in every configuration. Legal parentage protections vary by relationship status, which is why we recommend consultation with a family-law attorney alongside your medical planning.

Our physicians have lectured extensively on third-party reproduction — at hospital grand rounds, at educational symposiums for students and residents, at RESOLVE seminars and at ASRM roundtables.