With the increasing rates of infertility, conceiving a healthy child has become a long-drawn dream for couples and or individuals. Where most fertility treatments fail to support you to expand your family that’s when surrogacy meets your needs, and expectations and fulfills your dreams quite effectively. Though surrogacy for infertile couples is quite a straightforward and successful process, having a detailed understanding of the various stages of this infertility program can make you feel confident throughout the proceedings of the journey.
Often, surrogacy is the last step for most intended parents as couples spend months or years of effort and funds to become parents to no avail. So selecting surrogacy after attempting tremendous fertility treatments can feel like a big decision. Surrogacy may be a time-consuming or tedious process but it assures to offer you the experience of parenthood that you have been desiring for years.
Due to the advancement of surrogacy over the years, the laws of this procedure are ever-changing and it differs from country to country. So, your surrogacy journey varies with which country you live in, or which surrogacy destination you have selected. However, a surrogacy professional or an agency will guide and support you throughout the uncertainties and help you understand everything about infertility and surrogacy.
Sounds confusing? Don’t worry this blog includes different stages to simplify your decision-making process about beginning your journey of surrogacy for infertile couples.
- Who can apply for surrogacy
- Process of surrogacy for infertile couples
- Is IVF the same as surrogacy
- Essential surrogacy questions to consider
- Is it the right time to begin a surrogacy journey?
- Bottom line
Who can apply for surrogacy?
Many intended parents who are considering surrogacy to complete their families, often have queries like can only couples who are infertile can be qualified for surrogacy? That’s not completely true! While one of the surrogacy’s needs includes the intended parents having a medical history of infertility but doesn’t mean only couples can conceive through surrogacy.
We have listed below a few points entailing who can apply for surrogacy.
- Women who have a weaker womb
- Women who have a disease that affects her uterine line
- Couples or individuals with infertility issues
- Couples who have genetic diseases and fear that the particular disease can transmit further to their child.
- Even gay couples can conceive through surrogacy.
- Hopeful singles who wish to complete their families without a partner can consider surrogacy.
- Even men with HIV can conceive successfully a safe and non-infected infant via surrogacy.
Process of surrogacy for infertile couples
The process of surrogacy for infertility couples with an agency includes multiple steps to reach the delivery date of your baby. While you must have overheard or read about the process of surrogacy on the internet vaguely let us walk you through the detailed steps of a surrogacy journey.
Consultation and screening process with intended parents
The moment you decide to consult a surrogacy agency, it is a job of a surrogacy professional to guide you through the details of infertility and surrogacy. To begin with, a professional will understand your history of infertility and the treatment you have undergone previously.
Later on when you sign up for the program, a professional will conduct a physical and psychological examination to determine your fertility condition and whether you are emotionally ready to commit to the procedure of surrogacy. Based on the results and your circumstances, an expert would recommend a suitable surrogacy program.
Finding a donor and surrogate mother
The next vital step of surrogacy for infertile couples includes finalizing a qualified donor (if applicable) and surrogate mother for the intended parents. With a varied network of qualified candidates, a stellar agency like Global Star Surrogacy will shortlist candidates with certain criteria, and based on the result of the screening test a suitable surrogate and or donor is selected.
The physical screening process for donor and surrogate
- After candidates submit their application, a blood, and drug test is conducted
- Following an ultrasound to check the reproductive organs.
- A fertility doctor will look for the medical history of the candidate and their family – physical and psychological. To understand the probability of any disease being transmitted to the child, especially in the case of finalizing donor.
- An additional test to examine the infectious disease in the candidate’s body.
Once the candidates clear the physical screening test then they are sent for a psychological screening test that is conducted by a counselor. Donating eggs or sperm or being a surrogate can be an emotionally very challenging journey for candidates, hence it is essential to check their emotional capability for the process.
Based on the results of this examination, an agency would shortlist the candidates and then send their profiles to the intended parents to finalize one suitable candidate.
Forming a surrogacy contract
The surrogacy journey is legally binding so intended parents must ensure they complete each legal requirement for a hassle-free experience. Before, you begin the process a surrogacy contract must be formed between the intended parents and the surrogate mother.
A contract includes the essential surrogacy factors, compensation for a surrogate, legal parental rights, roles, and responsibilities of the surrogate and intended parents during and post-surrogacy procedure. It is recommended that both parties must have separate legal representatives, both parties will include their expected terms and conditions once both of them agree with the entire agreement and then they need to sign the contract. Without this process, an agency cannot proceed with a medical procedure.
Formation of embryos
Your surrogate can become pregnant when a fertility clinic creates a qualitative embryo. Now how is an embryo created? Surrogacy uses the medical procedure of IVF, then is IVF same as the surrogacy process? Well, no although surrogacy uses the medical process of IVF they both are different The surrogacy process begins with extracting the eggs of the intended mother or egg donor. Before extracting, she will have to take fertility medications to produce or stimulate multiple eggs.
Furthermore, the sperm sample of the intended father or sperm donor is collected. Then using a catheter a fertility expert would mix the gamete materials to create embryos. After a few days of observation, when embryos are ready they will be transferred into the surrogate’s womb.
The surrogate will have to undertake a few medicines to prepare her uterine line before embryo transfer and later on after the embryo transfer procedure is performed to check the results of pregnancy, she will have to undergo a few tests like human chronic gonadoption (HCG) and once she confirms with pregnancy, she can continue with her pregnancy journey.
Is IVF same as the surrogacy?
Is IVF the same as surrogacy? This is the common concern of every intended parent who considers the process of surrogacy for infertile couples. IVF and surrogacy are quite similar but there are a few differences that make surrogacy more successful than IVF. Let us understand the differences to understand infertility and surrogacy.
The main difference between IVF and surrogacy for infertile couples is embryo transfer in IVF is conducted with the intended mother whereas in surrogacy it is with the surrogate mother. Sometimes women who have poor-quality of eggs or weaker embryo face failure with conception via IVF.
Comparatively, surrogacy is the more reliable and successful procedure as the qualitative gamete materials are used of young donors and a surrogate mother who is fit, fertile, and has previous experience with pregnancy is selected so the chances of conception increases.
Also, the success rate of IVF highly depends on the age of the intended mother because as the woman ages her fertility and quality of eggs start declining, which is not the case in surrogacy.
In addition, surrogacy offers an opportunity for gay couples and single men to complete their families with a viable and successful procedure. On the other hand, IVF cannot provide such treatment. IVF and surrogacy can be similar but a few intricate differences can make surrogacy a viable option for intended parents to finally conceive a healthy infant.
To answer your question – is IVF same as the surrogacy? No, they both are different. Despite similarities, often intended parents face multiple failed attempts with IVF and finally choose infertility and surrogacy to complete their family.
Essential surrogacy questions to determine the best time for surrogacy
The procedure of surrogacy for infertile couples can be a reliable alternative for intended parents. There are certain factors that you should consider before committing to the journey of infertility and surrogacy can be an emotionally challenging procedure for intended parents as well. Hence, there are a few essential surrogacy questions that intended parents consider to evaluate whether it is the right decision for them.
Are you more focused on parenthood than pregnancy?
We understand that giving up on the chance of experiencing pregnancy by yourself can be very challenging. As most women have a dream of carrying a baby to term, and for most women pregnancy is associated with emotions and a few cultural rituals as well.
But in the end, you need to decide what’s more important to you – carrying a child by yourself or beginning your parenthood journey. Intended parents who have been struggling with infertility issues for years realize that conceiving a baby is essential for them, the method won’t matter to them. However, if you still are not ready for the surrogacy process you can seek advice from a surrogacy professional and consider IVF with self-implantation if that is a viable option for you.
Do you have leftover embryos from your previous infertility treatments?
This is one of the first surrogacy questions that an agency would ask you when you consult them. Having qualitative embryos with you can save your total surrogacy timeline. If the intended mother tries to undergo the implantation procedure by transferring embryos again then she might face a failure attempt all over again.
Instead, an agency would recommend using those embryos in the process of surrogacy for infertile couples. The perks you will benefit from are – you will save time, the overall surrogacy cost will reduce, and with a fit and fertile surrogate mother, you are more likely to experience a successful surrogacy pregnancy.
Do you and your partner agree with the proceedings of surrogacy?
Like any family-building alternative even with surrogacy, both partners must agree with the journey’s nature, its challenges, benefits, and other factors. The surrogacy journey is all about big-time emotional and financial investment.
Have you discussed with your partner how would you finance surrogacy cost? And, since surrogacy is a time-consuming process, how would manage emotional uncertainties? If amid the journey, either of you feels skeptical about the journey it can lend you major issues to cope with the situation. Hence, make sure you both are equally excited, prepared for the process, and share common goals.
Are you okay with letting go of the control?
This is one of the essential surrogacy questions that intended parents must ask themselves. Beginning a surrogacy process means your surrogate would become pregnant and you won’t have complete control over her pregnancy. An agency would still make you feel involved and keep you updated but yet you will experience a few limitations and restrictions.
For instance, you won’t be able to experience those hormonal changes that a woman experiences during pregnancy, you won’t be able to feel the child’s first kick and other religious and cultural rituals associated with pregnancy.
Intended parents can let go of the control but that requires trust, how can one trust an anonymous surrogate? We understand your concern, that’s why Global Star Surrogacy ensures all the potential surrogates are thoroughly screened, and signing a legal contract with her may give a sense of surety and certainty about the process and working with a particular surrogate.
Are you mentally ready to stop the process of other fertility treatments?
Oftentimes, couples face multiple rounds of failures with fertility treatments and that might the reason to move towards surrogacy because they know, no other treatment would work for them in the future. When couples have already spent thousands of dollars on IVF over the years and faced only failed attempts might make it harder for them to trust the other process immediately.
We understand your circumstances, and a professional will guide and give you a sense of trust in the process with their previous successful journeys and connect you with happy intended parents who chose surrogacy for their parenthood path.
But, as an intended parent, you must make sure that you don’t keep hope on your previous fertility treatment, you can’t undergo different alternatives at the same time. You need to give your 100% time, effort, and patience to surrogacy when you have decided to embark on the surrogacy journey. So, before committing to the process ask yourself whether you are mentally and emotionally ready, to begin with surrogacy.
Are you looking for a surrogacy program?
Surrogacy for infertile couples is one of the most reliable and successful procedures. After struggling with different fertility treatments, with thorough research and a detailed understanding of surrogacy, you must consult an agency that serves your expectations and requirements.
As surrogacy requires commitment with money, effort, and energy it demands 100% trust and confidence about the journey from the intended parents right from the beginning.
Global Star Surrogacy would walk you through the process, uncertainties, and different situations that might occur in the journey. From medical, and legal processes to other aspects, our expert ensures that you don’t face any hurdles. If you want to know more about surrogacy, visit our website or book our free consultation call.
Recent Comments