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 female couples can 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 counsellors have 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.

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 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 there are some more forms to fill out and more tests you will need to undertake.
• 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 while 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.

Fertility preservation services for transgender patients

Having a family may not be front of mind if you are transitioning and are already facing the social, medical, surgical, and legal steps ahead. However, it’s worth taking a moment to consider whether you may want to retain the possibility of having a biological child in the future.

We recommend seeking advice on your options from a fertility specialist before you start any medical transition. Flinders Fertility strongly supports rainbow families, and we are happy to help families make choices that suit their particular needs.

For those assigned male at birth:

Sperm Freezing
Sperm freezing (also known as cryopreservation) allows sperm to be stored for an almost indefinite period. This allows a trans woman with a female partner a chance to have biological children in the future using their sperm to fertilise their partner’s eggs. Sperm collection is usually done at our clinic at Glenelg though in some circumstances this can be done at home if you are close enough to deliver the sample within an hour.

We recommend that sperm freezing is done before taking gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) as this has been shown to significantly lower total sperm count and increase sperm abnormalities making it less likely that they will be viable.

For those assigned female at birth:

Egg Freezing
As a trans man, freezing eggs may be a consideration if you’d like to keep the door open to having a biological child at a later date.

Egg freezing should preferably be done before commencing gender-affirming hormone therapy (Testosterone or “T”). It is sometimes possible to undergo a stimulated cycle to retrieve eggs later, but this entails a suspension of gender-affirming hormone therapy for an extended period and may be a confronting and difficult process depending on your stage of transition.

If you decide to freeze your eggs, you’ll need to take a course of hormonal ovarian stimulation medication to produce ovarian follicular growth, and then undergo an egg collection procedure. The eggs are then frozen and stored for later use.

See our information on egg freezing for more details of the process.

Partner/Reciprocal IVF for trans patients

If you are a trans man and have a partner who was also assigned female at birth it may be possible to have a family using your eggs and donor sperm if your partner can carry the pregnancy.

Partner IVF involves undergoing an IVF cycle where your oocytes (eggs) are collected, fertilised with donor sperm, and the resulting embryo is then frozen. Your partner can then undertake a subsequent frozen embryo transfer cycle.

If you are considering egg freezing and/or 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 while additional tests are
ordered.

Embryo Freezing and IVF

Embryo freezing may also be an option for gender-diverse individuals. It is often pursued by couples who wish to preserve their fertility options before one member starts transitioning. Initially, sperm are used to fertilise eggs in a laboratory and the resulting embryos are frozen and stored for future use. It is important to understand that the embryos created are owned by both of you and that one partner cannot use them without the other’s express consent, so we advise you to both have counselling and obtain legal advice if you are considering this option.

‘Seahorse’ pregnancy

This is still quite rare as many trans men find it hard to reconcile carrying a pregnancy with their affirmed gender, but it is possible to stop taking testosterone and become pregnant through partner or donor sperm.

Colloquially known as ‘seahorse’ pregnancies they are sometimes the only way for some couples to have a baby. We recognise how hard it can be to carry an unconventional pregnancy and treat you with care and respect throughout.

Support for your emotional wellbeing

We understand the challenges involved in creating a family as an LGBTQI+couple or individual. These challenges go well beyond the physical and biological barriers, so in addition to fertility preservation options, we also provide patients counselling free of charge with our ANZICA-qualified counsellors, Julie Potts and Emma Angel.

We encourage gender-diverse individuals to seek advice from a Flinders Fertility doctor before medical transition begins, 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.