Reproductive Endocrinology
Infertility and Gynecology

Resources

Fertility Links

Adoption

  • www.adopting.org Features information on domestic adoptions, international adoptions, open adoptions, birth mothers and birth families, gay and lesbian adoption

Donor Sperm

There are many sperm banks around the country. They will ship sperm to our lab at Bethesda North. Donor sperm is frozen and quarantined to insure against the transmission of any sexually transmitted diseases. Dr. Thie prefers for you to purchase sperm that has not been already washed by the sperm bank. She prefers that our local lab wash the sperm. That means if possible buy an intracervical insemination instead of an intrauterine insemination. We have listed only a few banks that we have used. Please compare prices, shipping costs and registration fees. Usually it is best to buy 4 to 6 specimens at one time as the shipping fee expensive (>$100) and is the same for any number of specimens.

  • www.cryobank.com California Cryo Bank is one of the oldest sperm banks in the country. They offer a full range of donor options. Our patients have used this bank for many years.
  • www.cryobio.com is a bank in Columbus OH that we have used for many years and like their sperm quality. Their pricing is lower than most banks.
  • www.pacrepro.com is the site for the Pacific Reproductive Services. They also have the ability to identify the donor in the future. Sperm from a donor that has agreed to future identification is more expensive. A specimen from an anonymous donor is on average $100 cheaper than sperm from a donor who has agreed to future identification.
  • www.thespermbankofca.org is a bank in California that is a nonprofit organization that offers both anonymous donors as well as donors that agree to be open to identity release in the future. The information about donor identity will be available to the donor offspring only after the age of 18 and only on request of the information. This bank also has a sibling registry. Their mission has been to provide donor sperm for alternative family building.

Fertility Education

  • www.theafa.org The American Fertility Association is a national non-profit organization based in New York City, which advocates and serves as a resource for topics related to fertility preservation, reproductive health and family building.
  • www.asrm.org is the site for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. It is the primary organization for health care professionals that provide fertility services. Dr. Thie has been a member of this society for many years. They provide consumer information on a variety of topics.
  • www.resolve.org The National Infertility Association is a non-profit consumer organization serving the needs of individuals experiencing infertility with support, education and advocacy since 1974. The local Cincinnati chapter is not currently active.
  • www.ferringfertility.com is a site by the Ferring Pharmaceutical Company that manufactures Menopur, Bravelle and Repronex.
  • www.fertilityjourney.com is a consumer support website by Schering-Plough, the company that manufactures Follistim and other fertility meds.
  • www.fertlitylifelines.com is a consumer support website by the EMD Serono, a company that sells Gonal-F and other fertility medications.

IVF

  • www.bethesdafertility.com is the site for our IVF center. Dr. Thie is a founding member and currently works as a team member of the center. She performs her IVF procedures at the center.

Lesbian and Gay Parenting

  • www.acul.org The American Civil Liberties Union LGBT Project fights discrimination and moves public opinion on LGBT rights through the courts, legislatures and public education.
  • www.hrc.org The Human Rights Campaign is a civil rights organization working to achieve LGBT equality. They have a state by state listing of laws regarding same sex families.
  • www.nclrights.org The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a lesbian-led national resource center with a commitment to advocate for the rights and safety of LGBT people through a program of litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.

Pharmacies for Infertility Drugs (Mail order)

  • www.ascendspecialityrx.com is a mail order pharmacy for fertility medication that has medication instructions on their site. They will check your insurance for you to verify your benefits. If they can’t provide the lowest cost to you, they will inform you of this so that you may seek medications at another company.
  • www.freedomdrug.com is a pharmacy that sells mail order fertility drugs at below local drug stores prices. They have instructions for administering fertility meds on their site.
  • www.schrafts.com is a mail order pharmacy that sells drugs at lower prices than the local pharmacies.

Egg Donation

Dr Thie offers egg donation to her patients through the Bethesda Fertility Center. Egg donation is an option for those women who prematurely are unable to make an adequate number of eggs to achieve pregnancy. The egg donors are recruited by the Center and are matched with recipients. Some recipients have special requests for characteristics of an egg donor that the center is unable to match and then the Center does utilize outside donor banks. These are considerably more expensive as they are for- profit companies.

Surrogacy

  • www.allaboutsurrogacy.com is an online community of surrogate mothers, intended parents and egg donors that is built by the members for the members. It is an educational site for those considering surrogacy.
  • www.opts.com is the site for Organization of Parents Through Surrogacy. It is a support group site and an information site for surrogate parenting.