The statement highlights that the number of same-sex female couples receiving IVF treatment has increased by just over a third (37%) between 2010 and 2011.
Same-sex couples and IVF
In 2011, 766 IVF cycles were completed for women registered with a female partner. This was 205 more than the number in 2010. IVF treatment resulted in 223 live births and 265 babies being born.
Same-sex couples and donor insemination
Over the same period of time, donor insemination of women registered in a same-sex relationship increased by 24%.
Donor insemination is a broad term covering fertility treatment using donor sperm where fertilization takes place inside a woman’s body. Donor sperm is introduced to a woman’s uterus (IUI), cervix (ICI), or vagina (IVI).
Improving fertility treatment for same-sex couples
Sally Cheshire, Interim Chair of the HFEA said: “It is important to remember that behind the facts and figures in this report lie the many human experiences – some joyous, some deeply sad – of people seeking a family of their own. If this data can not only help us improve fertility treatment for future patients, but also help others to better understand how society is changing, then the Register becomes a work of significance to us all.”
