June is Pride Month, and it’s important to raise awareness on this topic. Navigating fertility and starting a family as a member of the LGBTQ+ community may be a confusing and stressful journey, and there are a lot of questions about the options for LGBTQ+ couples. In Cyprus, one of the best fertility destinations, many options are available, from adoption to treatments and genetics tests for same-sex couples who want to try pregnancy and/or have a biological child.
Below we explain more about these options.

For Lesbian couples

Donor insemination: Lesbian couples find a sperm donor and the sperm is injected into the vaginal canal with a syringe. The sperm can come from someone that you know, or it can come from an anonymous donor.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI): is similar to donor insemination, except that it uses a catheter to inject sperm into the uterus. The success rate of IUI varies based on several factors, including any underlying fertility issues, the kind of sperm used, and other factors such as your age and overall health.

In-vitro fertilization (IVF): The production of mature follicles (eggs) is stimulated with medicine. A physician then extracts the eggs and fertilizes each mature egg with sperm from a donor outside the body. An embryo can be transferred into the uterus after being developed, while any leftover embryos can be preserved for future transfers.

ROPA Method: ROPA stands for the reception of oocytes from the partner. It is a technique for female same-sex couples, in which the embryo is the end result of the egg of one of its mothers and is carried in the uterus of the other. It allows both mothers to participate in the gestation process.

For Gay couples

Egg donation and surrogacy are popular choices for gay men who want to have a child. Surrogates frequently use artificial insemination (AI). Donated eggs can also be fertilized through IVF and transferred to the surrogate’s uterus.

Although only one man’s sperm can be used to make an embryo, many couples choose split insemination, in which half the eggs are fertilized with one man’s sperm and the other half with the other man’s sperm.

Embryo donation is also another option for gay couples to consider.

For people undergoing Gender Transition

Gender transition is a personal choice, but you can consider keeping your present sperm or eggs, so that later in life, you’ll be able to take advantage of reproductive choices and avoid problems related to infertility.

For that, services like egg freezing, sperm freezing and embryo freezing can be used.