Surrogacy

Surrogacy is when a woman carries and gives birth to a baby for another person or couple. A gestational surrogate is a woman who is able and agrees to carry a pregnancy for another person. The intended mother provides her genetic material via her egg (or occasionally from an egg donor), the intended father provides his sperm (or a sperm donor), and through in vitro fertilization, an embryo is created. This embryo may then be transferred to the gestational carrier. While the baby will share a biological connection with this woman, she will not be the genetic mother of the baby.

Who uses Surrogacy?

• Significant uterine anomalies or the absence of a uterus
• Major medical conditions that would cause significant risk to either the mother or the fetus in pregnancy
• Biologic inability to carry a child (e.g. same-sex male couple or single male)
• Patients with a history of multiple unexplained IVF cycles or other suggestion of an unidentified endometrial factor

Surrogacy involves many legal, ethical, and financial considerations. Usually, intended parents pay the surrogate for her medical expenses; there are also significant legal expenses. Costs can start at $80,000 and go up to $120,000 or more. Legal contracts are required before the process begins to protect the rights and responsibilities of the intended parents, gestational carrier, and intended child. Both the third party and intended parents should have separate legal counsel.