Same Sex Couples
The desire to be a parent is common to many people — gay, straight or single. At Genesis we are an inclusive, caring, confidential clinic whose goal is to help you grow your family. Over the past 15 years we have helped thousands of same sex couples become parents.
While most of the couples we help conceive are lesbians through the process of donor sperm insemination, we also help gay men. Gay men require a woman to act as a surrogate. For more information, see the Surrogacy page on this website.
Donor insemination for Lesbian Couples
Preparing for donor sperm insemination itself is straightforward.
There are four steps:
1. Initial consultation with a Genesis physician
2. Fertility evaluation
3. Donor sperm orientation with Wendy Baker, RN
4. A counseling session
5. Donor sperm purchase
Then you will be ready to get started with month inseminations with donor sperm.
Initial consultation
At the initial consultation your Genesis physician will review your medical history and recommend a fertility evaluation. Many couples wonder why they need a fertility evaluation as a same sex couple. Once you’ve decided to embark on donor sperm insemination you become emotionally, medically and financially invested. We believe it’s best to know that you have a reasonably good chance to conceive before embarking on donor sperm insemination as approximately 1 in 6 lesbian women will have a fertility issue.
The recommended fertility testing is a blood test and an x-ray called a hysterosalpingogram (HSG). These can be arranged by your Genesis physician at your initial consultation or prior to this visit by one of our secretaries.
DI Orientation
Donor insemination (DI), often called “artificial insemination,” is a term describing a process of placing frozen/thawed sperm from a donor into a woman’s uterus at the time of ovulation.
At the DI orientation you will learn about the donor screening process, how to select your donor, how to predict ovulation and the optimal timing of insemination.
Counseling Session
Health Canada requests that all couples, gay or straight, who plan to use donor sperm have a session with a psychologist. In this session you will discuss the emotional aspects of using donor sperm, the timing and significance of disclosing the process to your child and other issues.
Once these steps have been completed, vials of sperm are purchased and shipped to Genesis. We store the sperm until the time of ovulation when it is thawed and inseminated into the woman on the day of ovulation.
For more information on donor insemination, see the Donor Insemination page.
Resources
There are numerous resources that can help you on your journey to learn more about same sex parenting: