Artificial Insemination / I.V.F.

A lesbian couple won the right to IVF on the NHS, ahead of laws that put same-sex patients on an equal footing with heterosexuals in 2009.

Clinics cannot block lesbians by referring to a child’s “need for a father”. Instead, same-sex couples need to demonstrate only that they can offer “supportive parenting”.

If at least one of the women in a lesbian relationship is fertile, then by conception by intrauterine insemination (IUI), is usually an option (the medical name for donor insemination). This is less complicated and often cheaper than IVF, which involves fertilising eggs in a test tube.

Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority - Dedicated to licensing and monitoring UK fertility clinics and all UK research involving human embryos, and providing impartial and authoritative information to the public.
guide.hfea.gov.uk/guide

Manchester Fertility Services - Offer a wide variety of fertility treatments, ranging from IVF and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, to donor sperm insemination, egg-sharing and egg-freezing.
www.manchesterfertility.com

August 2011