Reciprocal IVF
13 questions in this topic
Questions
Yes. Reciprocal IVF has been offered in Irish fertility clinics in recent years and is now an important fertility treatment option for same-sex female couples and couples where there is a trans male partner.
Yes. If you create embryos through a reciprocal IVF cycle, those embryos belong jointly to both of you. In future, depending on your circumstances and treatment plan, either partner may potentially use those embryos to try to become pregnant.
If your child is conceived in an Irish fertility clinic and born in Ireland, both parents can be legal parents from birth. There are some additional steps when registering the birth, and our clinic will provide the documentation you need. If you plan to give birth outside Ireland, local laws may differ, so legal advice is recommended.
In Ireland, donor sperm must come from an identifiable donor. This means you do not know the donor personally, but identifying information is recorded on the national donor register. A donor-conceived child can access identifying information about the donor upon reaching adulthood.
Yes. Because reciprocal IVF involves donor sperm, implications counselling is required under current Irish legislation. This is an important and supportive part of the process, helping you think about donor conception, future family conversations, and your child's long-term interests.
Yes. You will create your own account with European Sperm Bank and choose your donor directly. Many couples choose a donor with characteristics similar to the partner who is not genetically connected to the embryos, but this is entirely a personal decision.
Yes. Reciprocal IVF always involves donor sperm. At Thérapie Fertility, we work with the European Sperm Bank and support you through the process of selecting and ordering donor sperm for treatment.
Reciprocal IVF is suitable for two women, or for a woman and her trans male partner, who want to share the physical experience of family building. It may be a particularly meaningful option if one partner wants to provide the eggs and the other to carry the pregnancy.
Reciprocal IVF is a fertility treatment where one partner provides the eggs and the other partner carries the pregnancy. The eggs are fertilised with donor sperm, the embryos are frozen, and one embryo is later transferred to the partner who will carry the pregnancy.
The embryos that are created by the process are owned jointly by you as a couple. They can be used by either person for Frozen Embryo Transfer in the future.
Reciprocal IVF is the only treatment whereby a same sex couple can very physically share the process of becoming pregnant. One parent will be the birth parent and the other the genetic parent, giving you both a unique connection to your child.
You may wonder why we choose to do frozen embryo transfers for Reciprocal IVF cycles. The answer is simple. Sometimes it is difficult for us to synchronize the menstrual cycles of both partners, and this puts additional stress on the procedure. If we transfer fresh embryos when the uterine lining is not optimal, we risk losing those embryos. By freezing the embryos before use, we give ourselves the time to reach optimal uterine conditions for the embryo transfer. Additionally, it is best to confirm that there are viable embryos before putting a person on the medications for the Frozen Embryo Transfer cycle.