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Gay Male Couples

Male couple with baby

In today’s society, gay men are living their lives more freely by becoming more open about their relationship status. As a result, there is an increasing number of gay male couples starting their own families. They can choose to either have a baby through an egg donor or embryo donation along with a surrogate. Choosing an egg donor or embryo donation and surrogate can be an overwhelming experience for many couples. With the proper knowledge and reliable resources, making the decision of choosing an egg donor or embryo donation and surrogate becomes easier.

Surrogacy/Gestational Carrier

Surrogacy occurs when a woman carries and gives birth to a child for an individual or couple. The surrogate is compensated for the risk and services she provides. The surrogate carries an embryo created from the sperm of a potential parent and egg from a donor so she has no genetic connection to the child. There are several gestational carrier agencies that help couples find a surrogate for gay couples. Picking a potential surrogate mother is a carefully evaluated process where people can often interact with the candidate in more personal ways through conference calls, in-person meetings, etc.

Click on the link below to learn more about ARC Surrogacy/Gestation Carrier Packages:
https://www.arcfertility.com/arc-treatment-packages/surrogacy-gestational-carrier-packages/

Egg Donor

Gay male couples will also need to choose an egg donor. Patients can decide to choose a donor who is anonymous, semi-known or known. An anonymous donor is one you will never meet, a semi-known donor is one who shares limited information, and a known donor can be a friend, relative or stranger chosen through an agency, but are allowed to meet within agreed-upon boundaries. All potential egg donors are recommended to go through an evaluation or screening. Egg donors may receive ovulation stimulating drugs over time and have their eggs retrieved once they are stimulated. By choosing a reputable egg donor agency, they match patients with a wide variety of donors from diverse backgrounds with many different physical traits. Most ARC clinics have established packages for surrogacy and egg donor services.

Click on the link below to learn more about ARC Egg Donor Packages:
https://www.arcfertility.com/arc-treatment-packages/donor-egg-package-option/

Embryo Donation

Many women who go through fertility treatment may have several frozen embryos leftover. They can choose to donate them to research or to couples or individuals looking to build a family. Gay male couples can use an embryo donation with a surrogate of their choice. The different types of embryo donations are either known (open) and anonymous donations. Some choose to use a donated embryo instead of a donor egg or donor sperm to create equal balance of no genetic connection between both partners.

In an anonymous donation, the donor couple’s IVF clinic matches them to other couples based off of general knowledge such as similar physical features. In known (open) embryo donations, the donors can get to know the potential parents who are receiving the embryos. The donor can decide to choose the recipient through an embryo matching service or agency. Donors are not compensated for their donation so embryo donation can be a lower cost alternative and easier option compared to adoption and other forms of fertility treatment.

Adoption

Adoption is another great way to build a loving family. Learn more information about adoption.

Speak With A Patient Services Specialist About Family Building Options

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