Gestational Surrogacy Using IVF and Having a Surrogate Mother Carry the Child for You

What is surrogacy?

• Surrogacy involves using one woman's uterus to implant and carry the embryo and deliver the baby for another person or couple.
• It is most often done utilizing IVF - in vitro fertilization, but is sometimes done with intrauterine insemination.
• The woman that carries the pregnancy is called the surrogate, "surrogate mother" or "gestational carrier".

Who should be treated with gestational surrogacy?

• It is usually done for a woman who has had her uterus removed but still has ovaries.
• She can provide the egg to make a baby, but has no womb to carry it.
• Using her eggs and in vitro fertilization technology, IVF, she can utilize a surrogate mother to carry the pregnancy (her own genetic child).
• A surrogate is also sometimes used for cases where a young woman has a medical condition that could result in serious health risks to the mother or the baby.
• Have life insurance, should any rare, life-threatening complications occur.
• Have a stable income that will not be threatened if bed rest or pregnancy issues prevent working.
• Be older than 21 but younger than 35. (Age guidelines will vary from clinic to clinic.)
• Not have a history of drug abuse or alcoholism.
• Have the support of a husband or partner. The surrogate's partner may also need to agree to be tested for a sexually transmitted disease.
• Live in a surrogacy-friendly state (or country.)
• Be able to get to and from doctor appointments (for the fertility clinic monitoring and embryo transfer) and then later for prenatal appointments.
• Have a flexible schedule with reliable childcare, especially for the insemination or embryo transfer elements of surrogacy.
• Be open to fertility screening, general medical screening, psychological screening, intense time commitment (especially during the IVF process), and willing to take hormonal medications (including injections or suppositories) to help start or support the pregnancy.
• Be willing to maintain open communication between herself, her doctors and the intended parents or an agreed-upon mediator. She must also be willing to attend counseling, either individually or with the intended parents, should a communication problem arise.
• Understand that bed rest (especially if multiples are likely) may be involved.
• Be willing to abstain from sexual intercourse with her partner until pregnancy is established, and be open to genetic testing of the baby during or after pregnancy.
• Understand that pregnancy is not guaranteed to occur.

How is gestational surrogacy performed?

1. An appropriate surrogate is chosen and thoroughly screened for infectious diseases.
2. Consents are signed by all parties. This is an important step in surrogacy cases. All potential issues need to be carefully clarified, put in writing and signed.
3. The patient is stimulated for IVF with medications to develop multiple eggs.
4. The surrogate is placed on medications that suppress her own menstrual cycle and stimulate development of a receptive uterine lining.
5. When the patient's follicles are mature, an egg retrieval procedure is performed to remove eggs from her ovaries.
6. The eggs are fertilized in the laboratory with her partner's sperm.
7. The embryos develop in the laboratory for 3-5 days.
8. Then, an embryo transfer procedure is done which places the embryos in the surrogate mother's uterus where they will hopefully implant.
9. The surrogate delivers the baby.
10. The baby goes home from the hospital with the "genetic parents".

Pregnancy rates:

• Success rates for surrogacy IVF procedures vary considerably.
• The age of the woman providing the eggs is one critical factor.
• In general, pregnancy rates are higher than with eggs from infertile women.
• Some programs are reporting delivery rates of over 50% per transfer for gestational surrogacy cases (using eggs from women under about age 37).

Cost for a surrogate IVF cycle

• Our cost for surrogacy (with own eggs) is US$17,000 to $20,000 more than our price for IVF
• Our costs for IVF
• There are other costs involved with surrogacy including:
• Legal fees
• Costs for psychological counseling
• The cost of the surrogate mother
• We do not have surrogates - you must find your own
• There are agencies and organizations that can help you get a surrogate carrier

Surrogacy India, Surrogacy In India