ORM Fertility has announced the launch of Love Is Family, a new initiative dedicated to serving the specific needs of LGBTQ+ prospective parents. Acknowledging that everyone’s path to parenthood is uniquely their own, ORM Fertility is helping LGBTQ+ get specific information and resources they need to start their own journey.
The elevated commitment to the LGBTQ+ community includes a dedicated website –– loveisfamily.com –– which serves as a tool for sharing specific treatment options for LGTBQ+ prospective parents, including outlining the different fertility paths available. The website also announces free fertility seminars and consultations and is accompanied by a social community where former and prospective patients can share their fertility experiences.
“It’s paramount to us that we are an inclusive and truly welcoming clinic that is focused on helping all families grow,” said ORM Fertility’s Dr. Brandon J. Bankowski, MD, MPH. “Love is love. Family is family. We witness this in the offices and hallways of our facilities. It’s a constant reminder that the work we do goes beyond good science and medicine.”
ORM Fertility patients Andrea and Liz had their first son through IUI at a clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, where, as a lesbian couple, they didn’t feel welcomed, understood or embraced. When they decided to expand their family, they found ORM Fertility, choosing to pursue reciprocal IVF to tie their family together. With reciprocal IVF, embryos were created via IVF using Liz’s eggs and the same sperm donor used for their son. Andrea underwent an embryo transfer and became pregnant with their daughter, Ophelia, whom they welcomed into the world in February 2017.
“One of the big reasons we decided to go with ORM is how welcoming they are to the LGBTQ community. With ORM, the entire experience is just so positive and comfortable, and we felt a lot of trust,” said Andrea.
Added Liz, “It was just like we were any other couple coming in to seek services. They’re not just claiming to be inclusive; you get there, and you feel it. They actually truly are that way.”
For more than 30 years, ORM Fertility has been at the forefront of fertility treatment, welcoming more than 9,000 babies into the world. ORM Fertility’s team is a trusted resource for the LGBTQ+ community, offering prospective parents a wide variety of treatment options, including donor egg, gestational surrogacy, donor sperm, egg freezing, INVOCELL intervaginal culture device (IVC), intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), genetic testing and fertility preservation.
ORM Fertility has witnessed an 18% growth in new-patient appointments for the LGBTQ+ population over the last three years, seeing more than 1200 same-sex couples at that time. With patients coming from all parts of the world, ORM Fertility is well-versed in the sometimes complex processes of helping LGBTQ+ intended parents navigate every step of their journey to parenthood, including assistance with legal paperwork, travel, and hotel arrangements; working with foreign consulates, and helping manage the birth certificate and adoption process.
Headquartered in the progressive Pacific Northwest, ORM Fertility has multiple clinics in Portland, Oregon; one in Bellevue, Washington; and office in Tel-Aviv, Israel; an office in Shanghai, China; and staff located in the UK and Canada. For more information, visit loveisfamily.com.
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