If you keep up with news and hot topics in , then you've probably heard lots of talk in recent years about available to trans individuals. Given that in the United States identify as transgender, it's no surprise that the topic of trans fertility is becoming more and more prominent. Unfortunately, though, many doctors still aren't providing information regarding fertility options and reproduction to trans individuals, and this is very concerning.

Luckily, there are several great options out there for trans individuals, with these five being the most prominent.

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Sperm Cryopreservation

Trans women who want to create a child that includes their DNA can use a process called to extract and save their sperm for future use. In this process, a trans woman can either collect the sperm herself or doctors can surgically extract the sperm. Once the sperm is collected, it is stored in vials and frozen with cryoprotectant agents that protect the sperm cells and preserve them for however long the woman needs. This sperm can eventually be used with a partner or with a donor egg and a surrogate to create life.

According to , as many as 62 percent of couples who use intracytoplasmic sperm injection achieve pregnancy with medical assistance. Furthermore, the Mayo Clinic says sperm retrieval for cryopreservation can happen both before a trans woman begins hormone treatment and after (with a 3-month recommended pause in hormone therapy), which is encouraging for trans women who may not have considered fertility options as they began their transition.

Egg Cryopreservation

Just like trans women, trans men also have fertility options that allow them to freeze and store their reproductive cells so they can conceive a child who shares their DNA with a partner when the time is right. This process is called egg cryopreservation, and it works similarly to sperm cryopreservation in that the cells are extracted from the body, then frozen in a way that makes them still viable years later. Depending on the man's wishes and relationship status, these frozen eggs can be combined with a partner's sperm and implanted either into the trans man himself or a surrogate. A trans man could also find an egg donor if his partner is not female.

For to work, doctors must extract eggs from the trans man at a specific time. To make sure this happens, the individual must take fertility drugs several weeks before the scheduled extraction. Then, the eggs are retrieved nonsurgically and frozen immediately after extraction. The eggs can then later be used for in vitro fertilization (IVF), and the live birth rates are very similar to those that most other couples who use embryo cryopreservation.

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

For many trans individuals, conception requires some form of insemination. In most cases, the least expensive option is intrauterine insemination (IUI). According to the , IUI places sperm inside a woman’s uterus to facilitate fertilization. Although it doesn't necessarily guarantee conception, it does help maximize the number of sperm that end up in the fallopian tubes, which therefore increases the chances of pregnancy. Because it doesn't require a lot of effort from the medical staff, IUI is one of the least expensive fertility options, which makes it all that much more appealing.

If a trans woman wants to conceive with a cisgender female partner, she can take her previously frozen sperm and use intrauterine insemination to conceive a child. Similarly, trans men can use their partner's sperm or donor sperm to impregnate themselves by using this same process.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

While IUI is the least expensive fertilization treatment, it isn't the only one out there. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is another popular fertility option, albeit more complex. According to the team at , in vitro fertilization involves the combining of egg and sperm in a laboratory setting before placing the fertilized egg into a woman's uterus. Much like intrauterine insemination, couples can use previously frozen sperm or eggs to complete their IVF process, which makes it another great option for trans individuals who would like to conceive a child with their own DNA.

For trans men, their own eggs, their partner's eggs, or a donor's eggs can be fertilized, then inseminated into their own uterus or their partner's (depending on their partner's own reproductive organs). Similarly, trans women can use their own sperm to fertilize with their partner's egg or the egg of a donor, then placed into the partner's uterus. While this method is more expensive because of the work involved for doctors, it also holds a much higher success rate than IUI.

Surrogacy

Depending on the couple, insemination methods may not be a viable option for pregnancy, and that's okay. That doesn't mean these couples can't still use their own DNA to create life — they just need a little help. Luckily, this help can come in the form of or person who can carry the baby to term for the couple.

Couples can select a surrogate, then use either IUI or IVF to achieve pregnancy. The surrogate then carries the child until birth, at which point the couple takes over as parents and legal guardians.

Everyone deserves a chance to bring a child into the world — some couples just need a little more help than others. Luckily, medical advances have brought a whole multitude of fertility options to the table so that any couple can conceive. Even if you or your partner identify as trans, you can use one of these suggested fertility methods to welcome your own bundle of joy to the world.

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