Q+ Family Building Clinic Treatments and Services

Our Q+ Family Building clinic has a specialized team to help you navigate your fertility care options and determine the best path for you to grow your family. We care for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, regardless of relationship status, in a warm, welcoming space.

Specialty treatments include, but are not limited to:

• Egg freezing. Egg banking (oocyte cryopreservation) for fertility preservation entails hormone injections to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs. The eggs are then collected and stored. When possible, this may be recommended before gender-affirming hormone therapy; however, it can also be performed during or after treatment.
• Embryo freezing. We use a process similar to egg freezing to retrieve eggs, followed by fertilization using sperm to create embryos.
• Embryo transfers. This simple procedure passes an embryo into the uterus. It can also be performed when working with a gestational carrier (aka surrogate).
• INVOcell. This is an FDA-approved medical device for fertility treatment that helps reduce costs of conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF). It combines sperm and eggs in a device that is placed internally for people with a vagina.
• Reciprocal IVF. This is also called co-IVF and is used when two people whose bodies produce eggs go through the process together. One individual receives ovarian stimulation to retrieve eggs, which are then fertilized in the lab and subsequently implanted in another individual who has a uterus. This process offers a unique opportunity for multiple partners in the relationship to participate in creating a pregnancy, should they so choose.
• Reproductive urology. A comprehensive evaluation and a holistic, long-term health approach for individuals whose bodies produce sperm that helps us optimize your fertility options. A visit with a reproductive urologist includes discussing your health history, a detailed exam, and follow-ups, which may include labs and select imaging. The information we learn in this manner will be used for specific sperm-saving procedures (including, but not limited to, electroejaculation and microscopic testicular sperm extraction).
• Sperm freezing. Also called sperm cryopreservation, this procedure is completed for future use with intrauterine insemination and/or in vitro fertilization. Sperm from ejaculate or obtained through a procedure is frozen and stored. When possible, this may be recommended before starting gender-affirming hormone therapy; however, it can also be completed during or after treatment.
• Intrauterine insemination (IUI). A type of insemination where sperm is placed in the uterus near ovulation (i.e., when the body releases an egg). We can use frozen donor sperm from an identified (known) or unidentified (“anonymous”) donor that is then thawed and placed in the uterus.

We also offer the following services to enhance your care:

• Mental health support. We provide personalized support from our clinic’s mental health clinician, along with the LGBTQ+ Trying to Conceive Group through Stanford Medicine’s THRIVE (therapeutic, healing, resilience, inclusivity, values, empowerment) clinic, should you need some extra help with the emotional or mental challenges that a fertility journey may bring.
• HIV-friendly family building support. Many fertility and reproductive health clinics do not offer services to individuals with a history of HIV—we are happy to provide you care as needed in partnership with the infectious diseases team at the Positive Care Clinic.