Michelle Lorraine Embleton, biochemist at inviTRA, explains in this video about how women in a same sex female relationship can become parents via IVF with donor sperm. As explained by Michelle:
If previous attempts at artifical insemination have failed, or if there are underlying fertility issues, IVF is an option. For this, the woman becoming the bith mother must undergo ovarian stimulation with hormonal medication, and the development of the eggs is monitored by ultrasounds. When the eggs are ready they will be collected under mild sedation or anesthesia in a follicular puncture, also called an ovum pickup. These eggs are taken to the laboratory where they undergo in vitro fertilization. The previously prepared donor sperm will be mixed with the eggs, or microinjected using the ICSI technique. The resulting fertilized eggs will be allowed to develop in the laboratory. When the embryos are ready they are transferred into the uterus of the woman.
The woman will have to previously had had her endometrium prepared, with hormonal medication, to help the embryo to implant and give rise to a pregnancy. There is then the two week wait followed by the pregnancy test to see if the procedure has been successful.
It is important that both women sign the consent form for the procedure so that they are both considered as the legal parents.
