IVF with a Gestational Surrogate
Every path to surrogacy is valid and deeply personal. Male couples will need a surrogate to carry their pregnancy, while some women may choose surrogacy due to uterine or health considerations.
Surrogacy Overview
In surrogacy, embryos are created in a lab with eggs and sperm from donors, intended parents, or a combination. The embryo is then transferred to the surrogate to carry the pregnancy.
Expect the process to take about two years, from getting started, to matching with a surrogate, through legal processes, and medical testing. And of course, there’s the pregnancy itself!
What is Gestational Surrogate?
A gestational surrogate is someone who carries a pregnancy for someone else through IVF. They have no genetic connection to the baby—they provide the nurturing environment for a pregnancy to grow.
What is the Surrogacy Process?
Find a Surrogate
Most intended parents work with experienced agencies to find their gestational surrogate, though some choose to work with someone they already know and trust, like a close friend. Once you select an agency, you'll complete a questionnaire that helps them understand your preferences and match you with compatible surrogates. Surrogates share their health history with agencies and undergo medical and psychological evaluations, too.
Matching process
The matching process considers everything from state legal requirements to personal preferences about communication styles and lifestyle choices. You'll have the opportunity to meet potential candidates so you can find someone who feels like the right fit—after all, you'll be sharing this incredible journey together.
Building a strong relationship with your surrogate is essential since you'll be supporting each other through this emotional and meaningful process. Many agencies recommend regular communication, often weekly check-ins, to maintain that important connection.
Plan the details
Your agency will also be your guide through all the practical details, including securing health insurance coverage for your surrogate, handling legal documentation, and even helping with the birth certificate after the baby arrives. They're there to make this complex process as smooth as possible.
Begin Your Journey
Once you and a surrogate have decided you want to work together, your next steps will include legal paperwork, expectation-setting, and scheduling appointments with the fertility clinic. From there, you follow the other steps of IVF; embryo creation, possible genetic testing, embryo transfer. If the surrogate becomes pregnant, you’ve reached a huge milestone, and you’re on your way!
- IVF with a gestational surrogate is complex and can have a long timeline, but we are on your team throughout the process, providing guidance and support.
- Surrogacy is a good option for many people who will use IVF to conceive but cannot carry a pregnancy.
Affording your Journey
The most important thing to know about surrogacy is that it is very personal. It also takes time and can be costly, at over $200,000. That combination can create ups and downs, but we’re here for you through all of it.
To afford this journey, we offer unsecured loans up to $50,000 and secured loans up to $400,000.
