Keep your dream of having a family alive with transgender fertility options

Trying to conceive (TTC) as a transgender man or woman? Transitioning doesn’t mean that adoption is your only family-building option. The Fertility Center of Las Vegas (FCLV) is an ally of the LGBTQ community, and our team offers a wealth of transgender fertility options. Whether you’re just beginning to transition, or you’re already well into your journey, our Las Vegas fertility clinic can help make parenthood possible for you.

Consider fertility preservation when you’re just thinking about transitioning

If you haven’t undergone reassignment surgery or begun taking hormones, fertility preservation can be a great option for you.

• Prolonged estrogen exposure can damage the testes. As a result, if you’re a transwoman, you may want to consider sperm freezing (cryopreservation) before starting hormone therapy.
• The effect of testosterone on the ovaries is less clear. However, you can still pursue egg or embryo freezing as a transman. Your doctor can use these frozen eggs or embryos to help you conceive later using your uterus or a gestational carrier’s.
• Children and teens as well as their parents should also explore fertility preservation as a transgender fertility option, especially before beginning puberty suppression and hormone replacement.

If you freeze your reproductive materials before beginning hormone therapy, the process is the same as it would be with any cisgender patient. You can still pursue fertility preservation and other fertility treatments after you begin to transition. However, it will involve a few extra steps.

TTC? Our doctors can walk you through your transgender fertility options

Some transgender patients can conceive on their own, even after beginning hormone therapy. However, you will need help from donor eggs or sperm or a gestational carrier if you have had your testes, ovaries or uterus removed.

When trying to conceive, temporarily postponing your hormone therapy may be necessary to conceive using your own eggs or sperm. Many patients find that their fertility returns within three to six months of stopping these hormones. Others may discover that they will still need fertility treatments to conceive. Our doctors can help minimize the amount of time you will be off your hormone therapy.

• As a transwoman, you may need to take oral clomiphene citrate (Clomid) or hCG injections to stimulate sperm production. You and your partner may also need to explore options like intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
• If you’re a transman, you can also take fertility medications to help your body begin producing eggs and ovulating again. Your doctor may recommend that you take these medications in conjunction with timed intercourse or treatments like IUI or IVF. IVF can also help you conceive if you would like to provide your eggs for a pregnancy but would prefer not to carry the pregnancy.

Our Las Vegas fertility clinic team knows it can be overwhelming to navigate transgender fertility options alone. That’s why we offer compassionate support and guidance, no matter where you are on your journey to transition. Contact us if you’re TTC and would like to learn more.