lgbtq+ Dads to Be

The IVF Process For Gay Men

For intended fathers, biological family building requires the use of a method called in vitro fertilization (IVF) along with the help of an egg donor and a gestational carrier (surrogate).

Consideration 1

Preconception Wellness

Discuss personal lifestyle choices to optimize your health in order to produce the best sperm to create the embryos. There are small lifestyle choices that you can make to ensure that your sperm is as strong and healthy.

If needed, we will recommend lifestyle changes that will help maximize production of healthy sperm to obtain the best DNA possible. At your next visit you will produce a sperm specimen, which will be screened and cryopreserved until the eggs are ready for fertilization.

Other factors to consider:

Medication usage
Exposure to reproductive toxins
Smoking
Excessive alcohol use
Marijuana or illegal drugs
Steroid use

Consideration 2

Biological Fatherhood

A single sperm is used to fertilize a single egg. The question that often comes up is, can both guys from a gay male couple mix their sperm together? The simple answer is no. The IVF lab will not mix the sperm together.

However, if you’re a couple, you can elect to have half the eggs to be fertilized with one partner’s sperm and the other half of the eggs fertilized by the other partner. The embryos created are identifiable in the lab as to which one was created by which biological father.

Consideration 3

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Once the egg donor has been screened and chosen, she is stimulated with medication to produce multiple eggs. After the eggs have grown to a specific and appropriate size, an egg retrieval procedure is performed. Most egg donors produce a high quantity of eggs, and are of good enough quality to ensure maturation to a healthy embryo stage. Careful screening will produce the best results.

During the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process, the sperm you provide is combined with the egg donor’s eggs in the laboratory to create embryos. At this point, the embryos may be frozen if genetic testing is desired, or they are transferred into your gestational carrier's uterus as fresh embryos via an intrauterine catheter. If frozen, they will be thawed and then replaced into the uterus of the gestational carrier.

After transfer, any remaining viable blastocysts can be frozen for later use if desired by the intended parents. A pregnancy can be detected 11 to 12 days after the embryo transfer.

Consideration 4

Embryo Testing

The truth is that some embryos simply have a higher chance of resulting in a successful pregnancy than others.

Choosing an embryo that is chromosomally normal (23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46) will offer the highest likelihood of a successful pregnancy, which is the ultimate goal.

Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) can also identify genetic markers related to Downs syndrome, life-threatening genetic disorders, and the sex of the embryo, as well as other important information.

Questions?

Are you interested in learning more about IVF for gay men? Contact us today!

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