There are more and more single women who for different reasons choose this option to fulfil their wish to become mothers.

In Spain, the previous Law 35/1988 already allowed these kinds of treatments for all women in its Statement of Reasons: “…through respect for women’s rights to found their own family under the terms stipulated by the international agreements and pacts guaranteeing the equality of women, the Law must eliminate any limit that undermines their will to procreate and constitute the kind of family they may consider freely and responsibly”.

In article 6 of Law 14/2006 currently in force on Assisted Human Reproduction Techniques, it explains that: “Every woman over 18 years of age with full capacity to act may be a recipient or user of the techniques regulated by this Law, provided they have given their written consent to their use freely, expressly and in full awareness.

Women may be users or recipients of the techniques regulated in this Law, regardless of their marital status or sexual orientation.”

From the beginning, in the Spanish IVI Clinics we have been carrying out assisted reproduction treatments on women who do not have partner and homosexual women to help them in their intention to have a child.

Our aim is for the first contact with the treatment to be as simple and natural as possible. Firstly, an appointment is arranged with the gynaecologist who will be responsible for your treatment, and who will specify the most suitable procedure for your case. The main treatment options are intrauterine insemination (IUI) with semen from a donor or in vitro fertilisation (IVF). In the latter case it is also possible to resort to double donation of female and male gametes or the transfer of pre-embryos donated by other couples. The choice of the most suitable gametes is made by the medical team, seeking the greatest phenotypic and immunological similarities with the recipient.

The treatment most commonly applied to women with no partner – or no male partner – is IUI. The probability of becoming pregnant with this technique is exactly the same as in a sexual relationship with a partner, provided that this treatment option is considered within the woman’s fertile age.

The other treatments will be applied successively if pregnancy is not achieved and the patient wishes to fulfil her desire to become a mother, or else if IUI is not clinically recommended.