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LGBTQIA+ Family Building

Fertility Centers of Illinois is a trusted leader and has proudly helped members of the LGBTQ+ community achieve their dream of parenthood for more than 20 years.

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Making Parenthood Possible is our Pride & Joy

We believe that everyone has the right to become a parent. For the past 20 years, Fertility Centers of Illinois has proudly helped members of the LGBTQIA+ community achieve their dream of parenthood. Your miracle is our mission.

You have options and support at FCI

Our experienced team helps you through every step of your journey.

LGBTQIA+ patients work closely with the Third Party Reproduction Program, which was designed for the specific needs of LGBTQIA+ families. We have worked extensively with donors and surrogates and will provide you with guidance and support throughout the medical, legal, and emotional aspects of your family-building journey.

  • Egg, Sperm, and Embryo Donation
  • In-house Fresh Egg Donor Program
  • Surrogacy/Gestational Carrier
  • Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
  • In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
  • Reciprocal IVF
  • Egg Freezing
  • Transgender Fertility Preservation
  • Psychological Counseling & Support Services
  • Gender Inclusive Care
  • Free Resources
  • Free Events & Support Groups

Questions to ask yourself:

  • Who will carry the baby?
  • Who will provide the eggs?
  • Who will provide the sperm?
  • Is a donor needed or is there a known donor you would like to use?
  • If there is a sperm donor needed or if there is a known donor you would like to use?
  • Does either partner have underlying health issues that can affect the process?
  • If a gestational carrier is needed, will it be someone known or if they will be identified through an agency?

Will you need donor support?

Donor & Carrier Options

If you need assistance from donor egg, donor sperm, or a gestational carrier our medical team has the resources and experience to help you.

Need an Egg Donor

You may choose an anonymous egg donor through our in-house donor egg program or use eggs from a known donor. All donors are extensively screened.

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Need a Sperm Donor

You may choose donor sperm through a licensed sperm bank (such as Fairfax Cryobank) or someone you know. All sperm donors go through an extensive medical screening.

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Need a Gestational Carrier

If you need to use gestational carrier (or surrogate) to carry and give birth to your baby, we have many agencies that we work with and can help you along the journey.

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How to get started

Fertility Centers of Illinois has treatment options to help almost everyone build the family of their dreams. It all starts with a doctor consultation.

Next Steps

Schedule an appointment

Schedule an appointment

today
for in person or virtual
Discuss your

Discuss your

goals
with your doctor
Learn about donor

Learn about donor

options
with the third-party team

How will you conceive?

Treatment Options

During the initial consult, you and your physician will create a customized treatment plan tailored to your needs. There are many treatment options available, and the path you choose will depend largely on personal choices and preferences. We help you learn about all your options.

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

A ‘low-tech’ treatment in which fertilization takes place within a woman’s body. Sperm that has been washed is placed directly in the uterus at a particular time of the ovulation cycle.

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In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

A ‘high-tech’ treatment in which a physician will remove one or more eggs from the ovaries and then fertilize with sperm inside the embryology lab. The highest quality embryos can be transferred back into the uterus.

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Sperm from Two Different Men

Two different sperms can be used to create an embryo that is transferred to the carrier.

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Reciprocal IVF or
IUI

One partner provides the egg and the other partner carries the pregnancy or both partners undergo IUI.

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Egg Freezing & Fertility Preservation

Freezing eggs increases the chances of having a genetically connected child in the future. For anyone considering gender-affirming care, fertility preservation prior to surgery or hormone therapy can increase the chances of having a child without disrupting the process.

Egg Freezing

Transgender Care

There are many ways to build a family. Your treatment plan will be tailored to the specific needs of you and your partner.

Transgender men (FTM) with a female partner

Multiple options using donor sperm

Transgender men (FTM) with a male partner

Multiple options using couples’ own egg and sperm.

Transgender women (MTF) with a female partner

IVF, egg donation and gestational carriers using partner’s sperm and/or her own banked sperm.

Transgender women (MTF) with a male partner

Multiple options using couples’ own egg and sperm

Our Team

Renowned doctors

Fertility Centers of Illinois has been helping people grow their families for over 35 years. Our 14 physicians serve thousands of patients each year with 42,000 babies born and counting.

Meet our doctors

Patient stories

Patient Story

Curtis and Josh

Patient Story

Jenna & Jenna

Podcast

Carrying Dreams: Inside the Journey of a Gestational …

Patient Story

Lyzanne

We have such a special bond since (our son) is Dana’s biological child, but yet I carried him through pregnancy.

– Kira and Dana, proud moms of sons Maverick and Ryker

FAQ

Legal contracts are put in place to ensure that intended parents are the legal guardians of the child once it is born and that donors and gestational carriers do not hold any legal medical or financial responsibility for the child. FCI strongly recommends that you work only with attorneys who have a background in reproductive law. Click here for a list of legal resources.

When using a known donor, the donor and couple are advised to have separate legal counsel and sign a legal contract that defines the financial obligations and rights of the donor with respect to the donated egg, sperm, embryo, or uterus.

To utilize an egg donor candidate with the FCI in-house anonymous egg donor program, you are required to seek counsel by a reproductive attorney from the attorney recommendation list.

When using a gestational carrier in Illinois, the surrogacy contract is enforceable through the Gestational Surrogacy Act. Although Illinois is a surrogacy-friendly state with a very detailed process for establishing legal guardianship between a child and its intended parents when using a gestational surrogate, not all state laws offer so much protection for intended parents. In some states intended parents are required to go through an adoption process after the gestational carrier has delivered the child.

There is a screening process for all egg and sperm donors. Screening includes a review of family history, medical testing, and psychological testing. The donor may also undergo genetic testing.

Gestational carriers go through a screening process that includes a review of family history, medical testing, and psychological testing. The gestational carrier must have already held a healthy pregnancy. For added security, there is the option to include details in legal contracts regarding the expected behavior of the carrier to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

All egg and sperm donors need to be cleared by the FDA to ensure the individual doesn’t have any physical or mental illness that could pose a risk to the baby or gestational carrier. This process is already taken care of if you are using an egg or sperm bank but will need to be completed if you are using a known donor.

In instances where a gestational carrier is used, the individual providing egg or sperm will need to be cleared by the FDA to ensure there is no physical or mental illness that could pose a risk to the baby or gestational carrier.

Psychological evaluation is also required for the known donor and the couple to ensure the relationship is preserved after the birth of the child.

Lesbian couples have the opportunity to make the pregnancy a truly shared experience through reciprocal IVF. With reciprocal IVF, one partner provides the egg and the other partner carries the pregnancy. In other instances, one or both partners undergo intrauterine insemination (IUI), which means one or both partners will provide the egg and carry the pregnancy. Choosing who will be inseminated is largely dependent on the couple’s goals (such as desired family size) but can also be influenced by age and health status.

If two men would like to be the biological parent of a child, dual insemination may be an option. Depending on desired family size, gay couples have the opportunity to utilize dual insemination wherein each partner provides sperm that can be used to create an embryo which will then be transferred to the gestational carrier to carry the pregnancy.

Fertility Care for Transgender Individuals
There are many ways for transgender men and women to be included in the family building journey with their partner.

Transgender men (FTM) with a female partner
Transgender men and their partner can conceive using donor sperm. Treatment options will vary based on individual fertility testing but most patients are likely to conceive with intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Co-IVF is also an option for transgender men and their partner. With co-IVF, one partner provides the egg and the other partner will carry the pregnancy.

Transgender men (FTM) with a male partner
Transgender men with a male partner can work with our medical team to review and temporarily postpone hormone therapy, allowing the couple to conceive with intercourse. If fertility treatments are needed, they may be eligible for IUI or IVF with or without a gestational carrier.

Transgender women (MTF) with a female partner
Transgender women with a female partner most often opt to use IUI to conceive. If sperm was frozen prior to hormone therapies or surgery, that frozen sperm can be used. Otherwise, hormone therapy can temporarily cease for spermatogenesis to resume in order to obtain sperm. Alternatively, donor sperm can be used.

Transgender women (MTF) with a male partner
Transgender women with a male partner will need donor egg treatment using a gestational carrier. If sperm was frozen prior to hormone therapies or surgery, either the frozen sperm or the partner’s sperm may be used.

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