LGBTQ+ Fertility Preservation

At Main Line Fertility, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a family—on their own terms and timeline. For many LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, fertility preservation is an important step in planning for the future. Whether you are preparing for gender-affirming medical care, want to explore family-building options for later in life, or are simply looking to preserve your fertility before starting a family, our expert team is here to guide you. With cutting-edge technology and compassionate care, we offer a range of fertility preservation options to help make your parenthood journey possible whenever the time is right.

LGBTQ+ Egg Freezing

Egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation, allows you to preserve your eggs for future use. Through vitrification, a rapid-freezing technology, eggs are suspended in time and can be stored indefinitely without compromising quality. At Main Line Fertility, we offer comprehensive egg preservation services, including state-of-the-art cryopreservation and secure long-term storage, to support your family-building goals.

Who is egg freezing right for?

Age is the most common reason that a person who produces eggs decides to preserve them.
However, other factors that might warrant egg freezing include:

• Upcoming oophorectomy
• Upcoming gender confirmation surgery such as metoidioplasty or phalloplasty (i.e. “bottom surgery”)
• A family history of premature ovarian failure or early menopause
• A recent cancer diagnosis
• A diagnosis of endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

If you are starting gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), current research indicates that you do not need to freeze your eggs to preserve your fertility.

What is the process actually like?

At Main Line Fertility, we want you to know exactly what to expect from every part of your journey with us. Here are the steps to expect for egg freezing:

1. Reproductive Health Physical: At your first visit, you will be greeted by a fertility care coordinator who will review the new patient visit checklist and your insurance with you. You will then meet with a member of our clinical care team who will review your medical history and, depending on the purpose of your visit, perform an ultrasound and lab work. Our clinical care team will also discuss the benefits of genetic carrier screening and you will have the option to test.
2. Ovarian Stimulation: Over a period of 9-12 days, we will stimulate your ovaries with self-administered injections. These injections utilize a thin needle (similar to what a diabetic might use for insulin shots) and are given subcutaneously, which means below the skin (as opposed to in the muscle). You will also have approximately five to seven early morning monitoring appointments to assess whether the injections are working.
3. Egg Retrieval: Once the monitoring shows that the egg maturing process has worked, you will come to our on-site surgery center where your doctor will gently guide a needle attached to a catheter through your vaginal wall to collect your eggs. The painless procedure will take 10-20 minutes and you will be under twilight anesthesia. Most patients don’t even remember the procedure, and you may bring a partner or friend with you if you’d like. There are no stitches or scars and most patients return to work the following day.
4. Freezing and Storage: Your collected eggs are then frozen using an advanced method called vitrification. Immediately after they are vitrified, your eggs will be placed into one of our liquid nitrogen storage containers in our state-of-the-art laboratory. Mechanisms are in place to ensure the safe long-term storage of your eggs.

What is the ideal age to freeze my eggs?

If there are no other indications requiring an earlier extraction, patients between the ages of 30 to 40, specifically early to mid-30s, are the ideal age to freeze their eggs.

How much does egg freezing cost?

At Main Line Fertility, the cost for an egg freezing cycle ranges between $3,000-$6,000, plus the cost of anesthesia ($500 per cycle) and medication ($2,500+ per cycle), depending on which egg freezing package the patient chooses. We also offer comprehensive financing. All Main Line Fertility egg freezing packages include:

• Monitoring appointments
• Egg retrieval
• Cryopreservation
• The first year of storage
• Cryostorage costs $750 per additional year

 How does my past hormone therapy impact my options?

The most current research shows that long-term testosterone use has no effect on egg quality or the ability to get pregnant. In most cases, stopping gender-affirming hormone therapy allows fertility to return to what it would naturally be without testosterone, though timelines can vary from person to person.

If you’re currently using testosterone, you’ll need to pause treatment to begin the egg-freezing process. Our team at Main Line Fertility understands that this is a personal decision, and we’re here to support you. We encourage you to discuss your hormone use with your doctor so we can create a timeline that feels right for you.

LGBTQ+ Embryo Freezing

Embryo cryopreservation, commonly referred to as embryo freezing, is the process of selecting, freezing, and storing embryos for later use. The most common reason to preserve embryos is that you have completed a cycle of IVF and you have unused embryos that you would like to save for a future cycle or future pregnancy. There are many advantages to cryopreserving embryos:

• Potentially avoiding the need for future ovarian stimulation or egg retrieval.
• Transferring fewer embryos in your first IVF cycle can help reduce the risk of multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets, or more).
• Cryopreserving embryos ensures that your children will be genetic siblings, even if fertility is impacted by surgery, cancer treatment, or gender-affirming hormone therapy.
• Embryos that are cryopreserved generally have a slightly higher conception rate compared to cryopreserved eggs.

There is a storage fee of $750 per year to store your embryos with Main Line Fertility. Prices are subject to change.