What Every Single Woman and Lesbian Couple Needs to Know Before Donor Insemination: A Harvard Expert Explains

Donor sperm can cost over a thousand dollars a vial. Sometimes over two thousand. And most people start spending that money before they have asked the most important questions.

In this episode of the Building Your Family podcast, Lisa sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Ginsburg, past president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, to walk through everything you need to know before starting donor insemination.

This episode is especially valuable for single women, lesbian couples and clinicians who want a clearer framework for donor selection, fertility workup and when to move from IUI to IVF.

What you will learn in this episode:

Considering carrier screening before choosing a donor so you do not miss a shared recessive mutation Why psychological screening matters for single women, lesbian couples and known donors What a known donor agreement actually needs to cover and why a legal agreement is essential What fertility testing should happen before you spend thousands on sperm What AMH does and does not tell you about your chances with donor insemination When to consider moving from IUI to IVF and how cost and geography affect that decision Why donor inventory matters if you want a second child with the same donor What clinicians should be discussing proactively that most patients never hear

If you are using donor sperm to build your family, or thinking about it, this episode will give you a framework you will not find anywhere else.

Resources: Article: https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(26)00565-0/abstract Building Your Family Community: familybuilding.net Take the free quiz: familybuilding.net/welcome-quiz

Lisa Schuman LCSW is the founder of The Center for Family Building, author of Building Your Family: The Complete Guide to Donor Conception, and host of the Building Your Family podcast.

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