Where to start /contd (Amy and Maria’s Blog)

Our Story

After we decided to begin our family , we asked our OB at the time. ( not recommending her, she is not gay friendly) for a referral. She suggested we call Long Island IVF (LIVF) DR. Brenner in Hempstead. This was a horrible experience and a waste of money.  Not only because they do not have experience handling same sex couples but also we felt they were just making a paycheck. They were very careless with our procedure.

Now just to clarify the procedure we did was I carried Maria’s eggs and we used a unknown sperm donor.  There is no classification yet although we are both fertile we have to go through the IVF cycle to have a child this way. They call Maria a Known Donor because she gave up her eggs and I became a Gestational Carrier because I carried a forgein embryo. Until NY State laws change this is what it is……

Also very important to remember before you get to this point you must have a sperm donor picked and ready to ship. ( I will discuss donor banks later) !

This is how LIVF’s procedure goes. First you have to get interviewed by their Social worker Aviva who is eccentric and negative. Because they don’t know how to classify “this type of relationship”, this becomes a gestational carrier and a known donor cycle. They made us both take the MMPI ($900) which is a psychological test to make sure you are sane and able to be a mother . You then have to go see their attorney who explains the laws in the state of NY ($675). You then interview with doctor Brenner and get all the details and cost summary.

The nurses discuss payment breakdown, the start date and the medication schedule. At this point payment must be made and you are ready to begin the cycle.

I am not aware of any insurance companies who cover IVF cycles unless you are truly infertile. So you must have money saved because this can become very costly. We spent between $50,000 – $100,000 that is all inclusive and two cycles.