Lorna Marshall, MD, FACOG

When Dr. Lorna Marshall founded Pacific NW Fertility in 2005 with Dr. Lee Hickok, their version was to create a place where all individuals could receive the best possible care in an environment that is caring and inclusive. The two physicians used their combined experiences as leaders in the Seattle community to grow Pacific Fertility into the practice it is today.

Dr. Marshall is currently the medical director of PNWF where she also heads the Center for Collaborative Reproduction and is medical director for the Simplify Donor Egg Bank. She serves as Clinical Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at University of Washington.

Dr. Marshall came to Seattle after serving as faculty at University of California San Francisco to become the first female board-certified reproductive endocrinologist in the state of Washington. She established and directed the fertility center at Virginia Mason Medical Center where she became known as a leader in the fertility community, participating in some of the community’s “firsts” such as the first pregnancy from ICSI in Washington state. She has sought additional education in reproductive ethics, and served on local and national ethics committees for ASRM and ACOG. She has published in the fields of reproductive ethics and reproductive medicine, editing two textbooks, and contributing to almost 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and published research abstracts. She has been elected as President of Pacific Coast Reproductive Society, the premier society of fertility specialists on the West Coast, as well as President of Seattle Gynecological Society, Chair of the Women’s Council of ASRM, and Board Member of Pacific Coast Ob/Gyn Society.

One of her passions is access to fertility care, and she is currently supporting a movement to pass legislation to require insurance coverage to build families. She has consistently supported building families for all individuals–in fact, coining the term “shared maternity” for same-sex female couples in which one partner provides the eggs and the other carries the pregnancy. She is always eager to use her experience to help her patients work through complex problems or to offer second opinions, as well as to perform some of the more challenging fertility surgeries, such as hysteroscopy for uterine anomalies and scar tissue.

Outside of medicine Dr. Marshall enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to remote places, scuba diving, kayaking, and hiking.

It has been the greatest privilege to help build so many families over the years. Everyone’s story is different and I love encouraging my patients to see the many ways they can take this journey to build a family—and feel hopeful doing so!