Category Archives: Fertility Doctor


Find a Compassionate and Trusted LGBTQ Fertility Doctor in NYC

lgbt pride loveThe mission of Dr. John Zhang is to consistently and fairly share his expertise and counsel with NYC’s LGBTQ community.

The Doctor practices with compassion and trust every day. Every person has the right to have a family of their own. This has been our mission statement since 2004 – the year New Hope Fertility Center was founded in NYC by Dr. Zhang. Sexual orientation bias has no place in the practice of fertility. The Doctor is renowned worldwide for providing cutting-edge LGBTQ fertility treatment to our same-sex patients. Dr. Zhang steadfastly pursues his mission of reducing the physical, emotional, and financial toll of every LGBTQ patient during their quest to have a baby.

Compassionate and Trusted LGBTQ Fertility Doctor

  • No sexual orientation judgments
  • No gender or transgender bias
  • No personal or religious judgments
  • No judgments toward interracial couples
  • No judgments about marital status

Fertility Treatment Options for Male Couples

Gestational Surrogacy – selecting and using donor eggs fertilized in vitro with the sperm from one of the partners

Gestational surrogacy can be used to achieve a pregnancy through IVF using:

  • Donor Eggs
  • Intended father’s sperm

Egg Donor Recipients – selecting and using donor eggs to accomplish gestational surrogacy

Fertility Treatment Options for Female Couples

  • IUI – Intrauterine Insemination (artificial insemination) using donor sperm
  • IVF – In Vitro Fertilization using eggs from one partner and donor sperm

Cutting-Edge LGBTQ IVF Protocols

You can realize your dream of building a family by using cutting-edge reproductive technologies.

Donor Eggs and Sperm

Regardless of the gender combination of LGBTQ couples – or singles wanting to be a solo parent – the process of selecting donor eggs or donor sperm has been substantially streamlined for our patients’ ease.

World class – yet affordable – support packages for the selection of donor eggs and donor sperm are offered. Our donor program is extremely successful because we use the most cutting-edge cryopreservation and IVF technologies.

IUI Procedure

The most common fertility treatment for lesbian couples is IUI. Timed with induced ovulation, the patient is artificially inseminated with a highly concentrated amount of motile donor sperm. The IUI procedure is performed in the doctor’s office and requires no anesthesia.

  • The patient’s monthly cycle is regulated using oral medication
  • An oral fertility medication – typically Clomid or Femara – is then self-administered by the patient to stimulate multiple egg follicle production
  • The growth of egg follicles are monitored through regular vaginal ultrasound imaging and blood tests
  • Once the egg follicles have reached a mature stage, ovulation is induced using an injectable trigger medication – hCG – human chorionic gonadotropin
  • The ovulation of multiple eggs, timed with sperm insemination, increases the patient’s chances of pregnancy
  • A highly concentrated amount of motile donor sperm is inserted into the cervix using a very thin catheter – similar to a pap smear procedure
  • The patient is instructed to self-administer progesterone to thicken her uterine lining in preparation for embryo implantation between the IUI procedure and the pregnancy test
  • A pregnancy test is scheduled

Two IUI inseminations are performed between 12 and 36 hours after hCG administration to increase the patient’s chances of pregnancy.

IVF Procedure

One partner’s eggs are harvested for IVF using donor sperm. The other partner carries the pregnancy.

  • The partners’ cycles are regulated to coincide with one another
  • The partner producing the eggs self-administers fertility medications to stimulate multiple egg production
  • The growth and development of egg follicles are regularly monitored with pelvic ultrasounds and blood level hormone measurements
  • Once the egg follicles have matured, the patient self-administers an ovulation inducing medication – hCG
  • The eggs are surgically retrieved using a transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration tool
  • The eggs are fertilized in vitro with donor sperm using The ovulation of multiple eggs, timed with insemination, increases the patient’s chances of pregnancy ICSI – a single sperm is injected directly into one egg
  • All resulting embryos will culture in a controlled laboratory setting until they reach an optimum stage of development – up to 5 days
  • A high quality embryo is transferred to the carrier partner’s uterus via an insemination catheter – similar to a Pap smear procedure
  • The carrier partner is instructed to self-administer progesterone to thicken her uterine lining in preparation for embryo implantation between transfer and the pregnancy test
  • A pregnancy test is scheduled

Gestational Surrogacy Using Donor Eggs

Gestational Surrogacy – Using donor eggs to be fertilized with the sperm from one of the partners. The resulting embryo is transferred to a surrogate who will carry the baby.

Egg Donor Recipient Program – Acquiring donor eggs to accomplish gestational surrogacy.

Gestational surrogacy may be used to achieve a pregnancy and birth using a surrogate  mother.

  • Donor eggs
  • Intended father’s sperm

A surrogate match is selected by the Intended Parents through a leading agency specializing in gestational surrogacy – New Beginnings Surrogacy

  • Once the perfect surrogate match has been located, the surrogate’s cycle is regulated in preparation for embryo transfer timing
  • In sync with the surrogate’s cycle, the donor eggs are thawed and fertilized with the intended father’s sperm using ICSI
  • ICSI is a procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into the donor’s eggs in a controlled laboratory environment
  • Once fertilization is achieved, the resulting embryos are monitored regularly for growth and development quality – up to 5 days
  • A quality embryo is transferred to the surrogate’s uterus
  • Excess quality embryos can be cryopreserved for future Frozen Embryo Transfers (FET) procedures

Compassionate and Trusted LGBTQ Fertility Doctor in NYC

It is important to work with a fertility doctor having the research and clinical experience required to design a customized LGBTQ treatment plan meeting your personal and medical needs. To schedule your initial consultation with Dr. John Zhang at New Hope Fertility Center – call 212.969.7422.

Is it Time for You to See a Fertility Doctor?

shutterstock_192934715If you are under 35 and have not been able to get pregnant after having regular, unprotected sexual intercourse for at one year, you should see a fertility doctor. For women over 35, the time period for trying to get pregnant naturally is shortened to six months. Look: A woman’s fertility is dependent upon her overall health, wellness and lifestyle choices. Many women suffering from infertility use up too much valuable time trying to conceive naturally when there is a simple medical solution to their problem. Bottom Line: Don’t delay treatment.

When to See a Fertility Doctor

Infertility can be difficult to diagnose. The sooner you seek help from a fertility doctor, the less time you will waste trying to get pregnant.

  • A woman’s peak fertility years are in her 20s to mid-30s
  • Women in their peak fertility years have a 20 percent chance of pregnancy every month
  • A woman’s fertility level begins to decline after 30 and there is a precipitous drop after she turns 35
  • Women over 40 only have about a 5 percent chance of getting pregnant during any given month

Symptoms of Infertility

Are you experiencing any of these symptoms?

  • Inability to get pregnant
  • Menstrual cycle lasting too long – over 35 days
  • Too short of a menstrual cycle – under 21 days
  • Irregular menstrual cycle
  • Absent menstrual cycle

Common Causes of Female-Factor Infertility

You may be suffering from one of these medical conditions:

  • Failure to ovulate
  • Irregular ovulation
  • Uterine fibroids
  • Ovarian cysts
  • Endometriosis
  • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
  • Blocked Fallopian tubes
  • Abnormally shaped uterus or cervix
  • Hormonal imbalance

Read more: Is it Time for You to See a Fertility Doctor?

Fertility Doctor Treating Secondary Infertility

While it is mainstream for a couple to seek out the help of a fertility doctor after they have tried unsuccessfully to get pregnant for a year, a typical case of secondary infertility can go undiagnosed. Primary infertility is diagnosed when a couple fails to conceive after one year of regular, unprotected sex. For women over 35, this time period is shortened to six months. Secondary infertility is diagnosed when a couple has been successful in conceiving a child, but then is unable to conceive more children.

Family

Dr. John Zhang is renowned for successfully treating couples suffering from secondary infertility. Older men and women considered poor responders are turned down by other fertility clinics offering In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Dr. John Zhang welcomes patients representing a challenge, regardless of their potential adverse affect on his pregnancy success rates. The Doctor completed his clinical training at NYU and holds a PhD in IVF from Cambridge. With over two decades of experience in Reproductive Endocrinology, the Doctor is a leading authority performing a vast array of IVF methods.

  • Conventional IVF – large dosages of fertility medication are administered to produce 10+ egg follicles for fertilization in vitro
  • Mini-IVF™ – minimal dosages of fertility medications are administered to produce between 3 and 5 eggs for fertilization in vitro
  • Natural Cycle IVF – no fertility medications are administered and one good natural egg is harvested for fertilization in vitro

Read more: Fertility Doctor Treating Secondary Infertility