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 13 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
Choosing parenthood often involves many complex decisions, but the process of donor sperm insemination itself is quite straightforward.
There are four steps:
1. Initial consultation with a Genesis physician
2. Fertility evaluation
3. DI Orientation and counseling session
4. Donor selection
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 DI 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 DI 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.
DI Orientation and Counseling Session
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.
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: