• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • CALL (781) 326-2451
  • Appointments
  • Free Webinars
  • Patient Portal

Fertility Solutions NE

Affordable Fertility Care and Solutions

  • Our Practice
    • Why Choose Fertility Solutions
    • State of the Art Fertility Centers
    • In-House IVF Laboratory
    • IVF Success Rates
    • International Fertility Program
    • New Patient Q&A
    • Baby Gallery
    • Testimonials
    • Fertility Resources
      • Patient Resources
      • Patient Education Videos
    • Fertility Solutions Blog
  • Our Specialists
    • Carol Anania, MD
    • Pei-Li Huang, MD
    • Ania Kowalik, MD
    • Caitlin Sacha, MD
    • Fangfang Lai, PhD.
  • Treatment & Care
    • IUI: Intrauterine Insemination
    • IVF: In Vitro Fertilization
    • ICSI: Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
    • PGT: Preimplantation Genetic Testing
    • Egg Donation Program
      • Donor Egg Bank
    • Gestational Carrier
    • Egg Freezing & Preservation
      • Medical Fertility Preservation
    • LGBTQ Family Building
    • Tubal Reversal
  • Financial Options
    • Egg Freezing Options from $7000
    • $8675 Tubal Reversal Package
    • $9500 Single Cycle IVF
    • IVF with PGT Plan
    • IVF Prime Advantage Plan
    • Military Discount Program
    • Affordable IUI & Clomid Options
    • Insurance Coverage
    • Financing Options
    • Current Promotions
  • Contact Us
    • Dedham, Massachusetts
    • Woburn, Massachusetts
    • Cambridge, Massachusetts
    • Peabody, Massachusetts
    • Plymouth, Massachusetts
    • Providence, Rhode Island
    • Referring Physicians
  • Egg Freezing Giveaway

Fertility Solutions: Official Blog

Reciprocal IVF: The Basics

Posted In IVF

Nov 05 2020

Reciprocal IVF is one of the multiple options available to same-sex, female couples – as well as transgender men- who want to have a child. Unlike gay men or transgender women, who require a gestational carrier to support their family building dreams, women in same-sex relationships – including transgender men who have functional ovaries and/or a uterus – have multiple ART options One of them is called reciprocal IVF.

If you are interested in the reproductive options for LGBTQ+ community, visit our page dedicated to LGBTQ Family Building.

Reciprocal IVF: The Basics

Also called co-maternity, the concept of reciprocal IVF allows both women to have a physiological and/or biological connection to the baby in one of multiple ways. In most cases, Partner A contributes her eggs (genetic material) and Partner B enjoys the psychological connection to the baby via pregnancy, labor and – if desired – breastfeeding.

If they choose, the parents can alternate roles the next time around.

Both individuals require a fertility workup

In most cases, reciprocal IVF requires both women (or transgender men) to have a healthy female reproductive tract, high-quality eggs, and a working uterus. The latter is what allows transgender men to carry a baby. However, if you are a transgender male intending to contribute eggs or carry a baby, schedule an appointment with your endocrinologist to discuss the rigors of hormone therapy reversal and potential side effects.

Because ART is an investment, it is important that both partners undergo a full fertility workup and diagnostics. We never want to assume anything and, if your test results reveal a potential infertility factor, that allows us to create a more customized treatment plan or to choose the optimal egg/womb combination for a full-term, healthy pregnancy.

The general IVF timeline remains the same

In many ways, the general IVF timeline used by cis-gender, heterosexual couples remains the same. The difference is that rather than the same person contributing both the eggs and her uterus for the pregnancy, one partner typically contributes the eggs and the other carries the baby after a fertilized embryo is transferred. If desired, the partners can swap roles for future pregnancies.

Carry the baby using your partner’s eggs

The most common option is to use one woman’s eggs and another’s womb. In this model, the partner contributing the eggs undergoes an egg retrieval cycle. Just like traditional IVF, we use injectable fertility medications and carefully monitored appointments to determine the best time to trigger the release of multiple eggs (oocytes). These are then frozen or used fresh to create embryos using donor sperm.

If you are a transgender man, and you’ve already frozen your eggs as part of a fertility preservation treatment plan, we’ll use those eggs for the reciprocal IVF process. If transgender men without hysterectomies opt to contriubte their eggs or become gestational carrier, we can support that model of reciprocal IVF as well.

Once the embryos are created, we sync transfer for a time that is convenient for the recipient’s schedule. We typically use birth control pills to sync your menstrual/ovulation cycle, transferring the fertilized embryos around Day 5, when the uterine lining is the most hospitable to successful implantation.

We can use donor eggs for either womb

If it turns out that there is an infertility factor in the mix, such as a low ovarian reserve or a history of recurrent miscarriages thought to be a result of poor-quality eggs, couples have the option of using donor eggs to create embryos. Then, either partner can serve as the gestational carrier for future pregnancies as long as there is a healthy uterus and pregnancy hormone balance.

Financing options

Most reciprocal IVF cycles cost around $20,00, including the fertility testing, all of the related treatment appointments, fertility medication, and monitoring. Fortunately, there are financing options available:

  • Single cycle financing. If the individual contributing the eggs is 34 years old or younger (optimally no older than 37), and both of you feel confident about your fertility health, you can finance a single cycle of IVF and hope the odds are in your favor for a successful outcome. Your outcome may be improved by transferring two embryos if you’re willing to embrace the idea of twins and your health supports a positive outcome.
  • Multiple-cycle discounts. Most healthy, reciprocal IVF candidates can assume it will take as many as three cycles to achieve a healthy, full-term pregnancy. This is why fertility centers offer multiple cycle financing, which saves you thousands of dollars. And, because most couples participating in reciprocal IVF have healthy reproductive tracts, the IVF success rates are higher, so your odds of a successful embryo transfer within three cycles are higher than most typical IVF patients.
  • Military discounts. Are you or your partner active military or veterans? Our fertility clinic, along with many others, offer special pricing tiers for active members of the military, as well as veterans.

Are you interested in learning more about reciprocal IVF and whether it’s the best option to start your family? Schedule a consultation with Fertility Solutions.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

pride month in Boston

We’re Celebrating Pride Month in Boston

June 3, 2022

young woman learning about ovulation

Ovulation: What & When

May 25, 2022

healthy women with normal menstrual cycle

The “Normal” Menstrual Cycle

May 6, 2022

acupuncture needles for fertility treatment

5 Ways Acupuncture Supports Fertility Treatments

April 20, 2022

young couple sitting at park enjoying a healthy lifestyle

Lifestyle and Your Fertility

April 5, 2022

Categories

  • Egg Donation
  • Egg Freezing
  • Fertility
  • Fertility Doctors
  • Fertility preservation
  • Fertility Solutions
  • Free Fertility Seminar
  • General
  • Gestational Surrogacy
  • Infertility
  • IUI
  • IVF
  • Live
  • Live Online Seminar: Q&A
  • Male Fertility
  • Our Newsletter: Conceivable Solutions
  • Ovulation
  • Patient Testimonials
  • Top Fertility Doctor
  • Uncategorized

Footer

Six New England Locations

Dedham, Massachusetts
Woburn, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Peabody, Massachusetts
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Providence, Rhode Island

Get Directions From

Boston, Massachusetts
Manchester, New Hampshire
Newport, Rhode Island
Greenwich, Connecticut
Portland, Maine
Burlington, Vermont

IVF and Fertility Treatment

IVF: In Vitro Fertilization
Egg Donation & IVF
Gestational Surrogacy & IVF
PGD · IUI · ICSI
Fertility Preservation
Fertility Testing

Popular Search Terms

IVF in Boston
Rhode Island In Vitro Fertilization
Providence IVF
IVF Clinic Manchester, NH
Manchester In Vitro Fertilization
Manchester IVF Treatment

Terms & Conditions · Privacy Policy · Site Map · Follow Us:
© 2022 Fertility Solutions
We Proudly Support
LGBTQ Families!