IVF Near Asbury Park, NJ | Damien Fertility Partners
Asbury Park has been a home for the LGBTQ+ community on the Jersey Shore for more than a century. The city hosted New Jersey’s first Pride festival in 1992 and remains home to Jersey Pride, the state’s largest and oldest LGBTQ+ celebration, which draws more than 25,000 attendees each year. It is also where Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, is headquartered.
That community includes people building families. Same-sex couples pursuing IVF with donor gametes or gestational carriers, individuals freezing eggs or sperm as part of a longer timeline, and patients who need a fertility practice that treats them without hesitation or qualification.
Asbury Park has no fertility clinic of its own, but Damien Fertility Partners in Shrewsbury is approximately 15 minutes north via Route 71 or Route 35. The practice provides dedicated LGBTQ+ family building services, bilingual care in English and Spanish, and a Diversity and Inclusion commitment that includes no BMI-based limitations on treatment. Request an appointment online to get started.
LGBTQ+ Family Building at Damien Fertility Partners
IVF is the foundational technology for most LGBTQ+ family-building pathways. What differs is how the eggs, sperm, and uterus come together, and the clinical and emotional support surrounding those decisions.
Reciprocal IVF for female couples. Reciprocal IVF is available for female couples who want to share the biological experience of parenthood. One partner contributes her eggs (undergoing ovarian stimulation and retrieval), and the other carries the pregnancy (receiving the embryo transfer). Both partners have a direct biological connection to the child. This requires a clinic with the lab infrastructure and clinical experience to manage two patients within a single coordinated cycle.
Gestational carrier IVF. Gestational carrier IVF serves male couples and individuals who cannot carry a pregnancy. Damien Fertility Partners works with gestational carrier agencies and provides clinical oversight of the IVF cycle, including embryo creation, genetic testing, and transfer to the carrier. The practice also partners with mental health professionals for the emotional dimensions of third-party reproduction.
Donor sperm and donor egg programs. Donor sperm programs through partnerships with several sperm banks support female couples and single women pursuing IUI or IVF. Donor egg IVF is available through partnerships with several egg banks for patients who need donated eggs as part of their treatment plan.
Egg freezing and sperm banking. Egg freezing and sperm banking allow LGBTQ+ patients to preserve their fertility on their own timeline, whether they are planning, transitioning, or waiting for the right moment to begin the family-building process.
The practice’s LGBTQ+ education page provides additional resources for patients navigating these pathways for the first time. Dr. Perlman offers virtual consultations for patients who want to discuss their options before visiting in person.
LGBTQ+ Fertility Clinic Serving Asbury Park’s Diverse Community
Asbury Park’s population reflects the kind of diversity that a fertility clinic must be equipped to serve. The city is 41% White, 27.9% Black, and 24.7% Hispanic. Its median age is 38.3 years. The LGBTQ+ community is not a demographic subset in Asbury Park; it is part of the city’s identity and economic fabric.
Dr. Miguel Damien speaks fluent Spanish. The clinical staff includes Spanish-speaking providers. The website is fully published in both English and Spanish. The practice does not apply BMI-based limitations to treatment eligibility, and it serves LGBTQ+ patients, single parents by choice, and patients using third-party reproduction, including gestational carriers and donor gametes.
This describes how the practice operates daily across its offices in Shrewsbury, Newark, and Jersey City.
What to Expect During an IVF Cycle
A typical IVF cycle spans three to four weeks and involves 8 to 10 clinic visits, most of them short morning monitoring appointments.
The main phases include ovarian stimulation (daily injectable medications for 8 to 14 days), egg retrieval (a brief outpatient procedure under light sedation), fertilization and embryo culture in the lab through day 7, and embryo transfer (a procedure that takes roughly 10 minutes and does not require anesthesia). Some patients also add preimplantation genetic testing between the culture and transfer stages, which adds a freeze-all cycle and a separate transfer month.
One physician manages every phase of the cycle, from reviewing bloodwork during stimulation through performing the retrieval and transfer. Monitoring visits may be conducted by Nurse Practitioners Gloria Lopez or Elizabeth Piercy, both AANP-certified FNPs who work within the same care team. For patients driving in from Asbury Park or elsewhere on the Shore, knowing the structure of their care makes the process easier to plan around
15 Minutes to the Shrewsbury Office
The Damien Fertility Partners headquarters at 655 Shrewsbury Avenue, Shrewsbury, NJ 07702 is approximately 15 minutes north of Asbury Park via Route 71 or Route 35. The office opens at 7:00 am Monday through Friday and has on-site parking.
With 15 minutes each way, Asbury Park patients can complete early-morning monitoring and return home or get to work without significant disruption. Most monitoring visits take 30 minutes or less, so the total time commitment per visit is roughly an hour, including the drive. Nearby communities, including Long Branch, Ocean Grove, Neptune, Bradley Beach, and Belmar, are also within the Shrewsbury office’s service radius.
Board-Certified Fertility Specialists and CAP-Accredited Lab
Your physicians. Dr. Miguel Damien is the practice’s founder and Medical Director. He is Harvard-trained, board-certified in REI, fluent in Spanish, and has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor six times. Dr. Barry Perlman is board-certified in REI, a Fellow of ACOG, and a published researcher on endocrine disruptors and fertility. Dr. Perlman also offers virtual consultations for patients who prefer to start remotely.
The embryology lab. The lab holds accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the FDA, and the NJ State Department of Health, all with zero deficiencies. It uses CHLOE, an AI-powered embryo-monitoring system by Fairtility, to support embryo selection and produce developmental timelines that patients review with their physician.
Success rates. In 2023, Damien Fertility Partners reported an 81.8% live-birth rate per new patient for women under 35 and a 100% elective single-embryo transfer rate in that age group, according to SART data. Clinic-to-clinic comparisons should be interpreted with caution due to differences in patient populations. Patients can also view the full clinic profile on the practice’s success rates page.
IVF Cost and Insurance Coverage in New Jersey
NJ fertility insurance mandate. New Jersey’s fertility insurance mandate requires qualifying group health plans covering 50 or more employees to cover up to four completed egg retrievals per lifetime.
The 2024 expansion removed restrictions based on relationship status, sexual orientation, and age, which is directly relevant for LGBTQ+ patients who were previously excluded from coverage under the old law. Self-funded employer plans governed by federal ERISA law and plans covering fewer than 50 employees are not required to comply.
Damien Fertility Partners employs a dedicated bilingual Insurance Verification Specialist who can confirm whether a specific plan qualifies before treatment begins. Visit the insurance and financial resources page for more details.
Financing options. For patients paying out of pocket or covering portions not included in their insurance, CapexMD financing is available through the practice, with pre-approval within 24 hours. IVF costs vary based on the treatment protocol, medication needs, and whether additional services like genetic testing or donor gametes are involved. Damien Fertility Partners provides individualized cost estimates during the initial consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Damien Fertility Partners offer IVF for LGBTQ+ patients?
Yes. The practice provides reciprocal IVF for female couples, gestational carrier IVF for male couples and individuals, donor sperm programs, donor egg IVF, egg freezing, and sperm banking. LGBTQ+ family building is a dedicated service area, not an afterthought.
Is there a fertility clinic in Asbury Park?
There is no fertility clinic with a full IVF program in Asbury Park. The nearest IVF clinic with physician continuity, LGBTQ+ family building services, and a CAP-accredited lab is Damien Fertility Partners in Shrewsbury, approximately 15 minutes north via Route 71 or Route 35.
Does New Jersey insurance cover IVF for same-sex couples?
New Jersey’s 2024 insurance expansion removed restrictions based on sexual orientation and relationship status. Qualifying group health plans covering 50 or more employees must cover up to four egg retrievals per lifetime, regardless of the patient’s gender or partnership status. Contact the practice’s Insurance Verification Specialist to confirm your plan’s eligibility.
What is reciprocal IVF?
Reciprocal IVF is a family-building option for female couples in which one partner provides the eggs and the other carries the pregnancy, giving both partners a biological connection to the child. Damien Fertility Partners manages the coordinated cycle for both partners under one care team. Learn more on the LGBTQ+ family building page.
Does Damien Fertility Partners offer bilingual care?
Yes. Dr. Miguel Damien speaks fluent Spanish, and the practice employs Spanish-speaking staff across all three locations. The full website is available in Spanish. In a community like Asbury Park, where 24.7% of residents are Hispanic, this accessibility matters.
How long does an IVF cycle take?
A standard IVF cycle takes three to four weeks from the start of ovarian stimulation through embryo transfer, with 8 to 10 clinic visits during that period. Most visits are short morning monitoring appointments. At 15 minutes from Asbury Park to the Shrewsbury office, the total time commitment per visit is roughly an hour.
Schedule Your IVF Consultation Near Asbury Park
Asbury Park has spent more than a century proving that family looks different for everyone. Damien Fertility Partners in Shrewsbury, 15 minutes north, provides the fertility care to match: reciprocal IVF, gestational carrier support, donor programs, egg freezing, physician continuity, bilingual access, and a practice that has never placed conditions on who deserves to become a parent.
Request a consultation with Dr. Damien or Dr. Perlman, or visit damienfertilitypartners.com to schedule your first appointment.