For gay couples, family building requires working with an egg donor and gestational carrier to achieve family building goals, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) will be the procedure used to achieve this. IVF is one form of assisted reproductive technology and it is performed by a reproductive endocrinologist.

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Choosing an IVF clinic and understanding the IVF process are important parts of the surrogacy journey that can either occur successively or concurrently. Below is a breakdown of the major steps including considerations of the IVF process for gay parents-to-be.