Treatments & Services

LGBTQI+ Fertility Management

Flinders Fertility has a long history of working with LGBTQI+ patients and communities. Some of our leadership team were involved in lobbying for an important change in South Australian legislation in 2015, and today same-sex and single women are able to access fertility treatment without having to have a medical diagnosis of infertility. We believe in providing a supportive, non-judgmental environment for all patients, regardless of their identity or sexuality, and believe that all families are valued.

The services we offer LGBTQI+ patients include:

Donor program: We offer a long-running donor sperm program, with options for overseas donors, local donors, and known donors. The decision to have a child using donation can often be complex, and there are many factors to be considered. Flinders Fertility’s counsellor has extensive experience in helping patients and donors navigate through this process. For more information about using donor sperm, click here.

Please note that we cannot offer home insemination support. Clinics in Australia are required by law to carry out rigorous health testing of sperm donors and the samples they produce. This protects everyone involved from possible infections such as herpes, hepatitis, and HIV. It also minimises the risk of transmitting genetic diseases.

Fertility preservation in gender-diverse individuals: There can be many things to consider when affirming one’s gender, including whether or not to pursue the option of medical transition. With so much to think about, taking a moment to decide whether you want to have the option of a family in the future and understanding how to maximise your fertility options can sometimes be overlooked during the process. We encourage gender-diverse individuals to seek advice from a Flinders Fertility doctor before medical transition begins in order to discuss all available fertility preservation options. We provide an inclusive, safe and non-discriminatory environment to assist you before, during, and after your medical transition. For more information about our fertility preservation options, click here.

Partner (Reciprocal) IVF program: For many female same-sex couples, partner IVF, in conjunction with donor sperm, is the preferred pathway to having a family as it allows both partners to be involved in the process.

Partner IVF involves one member of a same-sex couple undergoing an IVF cycle during which her oocytes (eggs) are collected, fertilised with donor sperm, and the resulting embryo is then transferred to her partner to carry the pregnancy. Requests for partner IVF are becoming more common, and many couples prefer it as they are both involved in creating their family.

If you are considering reciprocal IVF, there are some important factors to consider:

• The risk of pregnancy complications, including pre-eclampsia and miscarriage, is higher than in pregnancy involving embryos created from your own eggs. This is also the case for patients accessing donor eggs generally.
• Clinics are obliged to retain details for the SA Donor Register, which is due to be launched soon. On a practical note, this means that there are more forms to fill and more tests that you will need to undertake.
• It is not possible to use fraternal sperm if you are contemplating partner IVF (even if only the partner’s eggs will be used to create embryos)
• There is a modest additional fee (currently $500) for the service to cover additional costs for partner IVF

If you are considering partner IVF, we recommend discussing this with your doctor at your first appointment so that they can arrange tests as early as possible to establish your suitability for this program, and to reduce the likelihood of delays whilst additional tests are ordered. Flinders Fertility strongly supports rainbow families and we are happy to help families make choices that suit their particular needs.

Surrogacy services: We are unable to offer a surrogacy program at this time, which unfortunately means we cannot offer treatment to people in need of this service, including same-sex male couples. However, if you have any questions we are more than happy to answer them and help guide you to other local providers.