We understand that men in the LGBTQ+ community may be transgender, cisgender, bisexual, gay, queer, several of these identities, or none of them. Given the diversity under the umbrella of “men,” we are happy to offer many support structures and processes to help you achieve your family-building goals.
Main Line Fertility has doctors who have personal experience navigating fertility as members of the LGBTQ+ community, and all of our staff are trained in the principles of LGBTQ+-affirming care. None of our forms assume heterosexuality, so you won’t have to cross out terms or questions that don’t apply to you.
Here are some of the specific ways we can support your journey.
For Transgender Men
We offer fertility preservation, fertility restoration after hormone replacement therapy (HRT), intrauterine insemination (IUI) using donor or partner sperm, in vitro fertilization (IVF) using your previously cryopreserved eggs, and more!
For Cisgender Men with Cisgender Female Partners
At present, surrogacy is the only option for cisgender male couples who would like to have a biological connection to their future child. If you’re just starting on your journey, we can help you by providing a fertility workup for whichever partner plans to contribute sperm to the pregnancy, giving you a snapshot of your current fertility capabilities. If you aren’t sure who will be contributing sperm (or if you both plan to contribute at some point), a sperm analysis for each of you can help aid that decision-making process. Our providers can advise you on which partner may be most likely to contribute viable sperm to a pregnancy, based on the many factors that go into fertility capabilities.
Finding an Egg Donor and Surrogate
If you already know which of you plans to contribute sperm to the pregnancy, we can collect and cryopreserve your samples while you search for the perfect egg donor and gestational surrogate. Our world-renown no-wait donor program is on deck to support your search, and finding the right surrogate is easy with our third-party reproduction team, who can walk you through identifying a friend or family member to serve as your surrogate or help you find the right surrogacy agency for your search.
Navigating the Surrogacy Process
The laws governing gestational surrogacy vary by county, state, and country. Our network of highly qualified legal experts will help educate you about the legal options and considerations that are unique to your circumstances.
Our team will coordinate all necessary medical screening and testing as mandated by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). We will complete a thorough medical and psychological evaluation of each prospective gestational surrogate to ensure an appropriate match.
There are many contributing factors that affect the cost of surrogacy. We provide you with the resources to understand the total expected costs involved in your surrogacy journey and reliable experts to guide you throughout the process.
For Cisgender Men with Cisgender Female Partners
We understand that not every “opposite-sex” couple is heterosexual. While you may not need the same level of medical intervention that other LGBTQ+ couples need, there are still unique considerations when supporting LGBTQ+ people in partnerships that others may view as heterosexual. We commit to not assuming that all of our patients are heterosexual, and to using inclusive language whenever we can. We will ask what you call your partner (without defaulting to “husband” or “wife”) and will ask what you plan for your future children to call you (without defaulting to “mommy” and “daddy”). We are also committed to asking for and receiving feedback openly, so if there is ever an additional way we can support you, please let us know!
