Surrogates have before beginning the process:
Jump to Future Parents FAQ
Jump to Egg Donor FAQ
Q: Who are the future parents?
A: There are a variety of people looking to become parents through surrogacy, such as: heterosexual couples, same sex couples, single male, single female, and transgender individuals. It is good for you to know that you are the one who decides with what category of intended parent you would like to work with.
Q: Will I be able to meet the future parents?
A: Yes. Usually the first meeting happens via Skype when the future parents do not live local. The second meeting will be in person, and can occur at the IVF clinic you will be working with or at another convenient location.
Q: What is the time frame of my entire surrogacy process?
A: The time frame can vary depending upon the circumstances of your cycle, but the minimum time frame will be 14 months from the moment you apply as a surrogate until you deliver the baby.
Q: What IVF clinic will I be using?
A: This is up to the future parents; therefore, some travel may be required.
Q: Will I be using my eggs?
A: No, our Agency only works with gestational surrogates; we do not work with traditional surrogates. This said, the eggs would come from the future mother or from an egg donor other than you.
Q: How many embryos will be transferred to me?
A: Our Agency works with clinics that use a maximum of 2 embryos per transfer. We want to avoid you having to go through a fetal reduction.
Q: What happens if the fetus is growing with medical complications?
A: Depending upon the level of the complication(s), a series of medical procedures could occur, including in the extreme case, a termination of the pregnancy. This subject will be discussed and agreed upon before you are matched with a future parent.
Q: What type of communication do I need to have with the future parents during the process?
A: In the beginning it is hard to tell how far your relationship with the future parents will grow. Therefore, we advise that you keep it professional at the beginning, remember our Agency is here to help you.
Q: What type of communication do I need to have with the parents after the process?
A: This will be up to you and them. It depends on what type of relationship you build with the parents during the pregnancy. Sometimes communication is frequent (once a month), other times parents move on with their lives and there is no communication.
Q: How do I know the future parents are not going to change their mind and abandon their child?
A: Before future parents go through the surrogacy process, they have EXHAUSTED all other possibilities such as the IVF process for themselves and adoption. For some future parents, such as: same sex couple (men), this is the only option they have to create a family, as in some countries adoption is not allowed for same sex couples.
Q: Will I get reimbursed for my travel expenses?
A: Yes, you will. Everything is described in the Agency documents.
Q: Do I have any financial responsibility throughout the cycle for myself or the baby’s medical claims?
A: No. Future parents cover yours and their baby’s medical claims that are surrogacy related.
Q: What is the time frame for a surrogacy process from beginning to the end?
A: Depending on the circumstances but the minimum time frame will be 14 months from the moment you decide to start your surrogacy process until your gestational carrier delivers your baby.
Q: Who are the surrogate candidates?
A: US citizens/residents women, who live in all surrogate friendly states. They are married/single/ divorce reliable women between the ages of 20-42 years old, with a good physical and mental health, who have proven live birth capability, who have the motivation and desire to help future parents that seeks surrogacy as the only way to achieve parenthood.
Q: Could my surrogate be my egg donor as well?
A: Our agency doesn’t work with traditional surrogacy, which will be the case when a woman donates her eggs and carries the child. The reason we choose not to work with traditional surrogacy is because of the legal complications this may carry. The eggs would have to come from the future mother or an anonymous/known egg donor.
Q: Would I be able to meet my egg donor if I want to?
A: Yes, you may. However, you must communicate this desire to your egg donor case coordinator before starting the search.
Q: Would I be able to meet my surrogate before the birth of my baby?
A: Yes, you can meet your surrogate at anytime after you have decided to work with her.
Q: How do I know the surrogate is not going to change her mind and keep my baby?
A: Surrogates must pass an intensive psychological test, which determines if they are mentally capable to go through the process or not. Also, they are bound by a legal agreement.
Q: What questions should I ask the IVF clinic that I will be working with?
A: You will meet with the Doctor to go over all of your testing, make sure the Doctor answers all your medical questions, including the maximum number of embryos the clinic will transfer at each process. After you have finish talking to the Doctor, he/she will refer you to the financial department, this is where you will receive a quote, any financial questions must be address with the financial department, not to the doctor. Please ask about things like, if they offer unlimited transfer vs. paying for each transfer, if the first one is not successful, make sure the breakdown of cost is clear and understood, please do not assume. GRACE will help you to review the cost document from the clinic and give you our opinion if needed.
Q: How many embryos will be transferred to the surrogate?
A: That decision will be between you, the surrogate, and the IVF clinic. There are clinics with a more conservative approach that transfer up to 2 embryos each time. Others clinics transfer 3 or 4 embryos each time. Our recommendations, based on our experience is to transfer 1 or 2 embryos maximum, each time. Please note: when there is a transfer of 3 or 4 embryos there is a possibility that at least 3 embryos will take, when that happens the pregnancy automatically is considered high risk and the possibility of prolonged bed rest for the surrogate is likely. The other option is a fetal reduction which would need to be discussed before matching with your surrogate, both situations could substantially add to the cost.
Q: What happens if the fetus is growing with medical problems?
A: It depends on the medical problem(s) but could end up in abortion. That decision will be between you and the surrogate, decision must be agreed from the start.
Q: What type of communication do I need to have with the surrogate during the process?
A: In the beginning is hard to tell how far your relationship with your surrogate is going to grow. Therefore, we advise you to keep it professional at the beginning, remember we are here to help you.
Q: What type of communication do I need to have with the surrogate after the process?
A: This will be totally up to you and her. All depends on what type of relationship you build during the pregnancy. Sometimes communication is very frequent (once a month), other times parents want to move on with their lives and there is not communication at all.
Q: How many trips to the States are necessary?
A: There will be a minimum of two trips; first for your medical screening (if you are donating your genetics) and second to pick up your child. If you are working with egg donor and sperm donor, only one trip is necessary, which is to pick up your child.
Q: Could the agency help me with my travel itinerary?
A: Yes, per your request.
Q: Do I need to find my own Attorney to draft the contract and parentage order?
A: Our agency works with Attorneys that specialize in assisted reproduction law this is included in the coordination of your process. One Attorney will be drafting and representing you in the contract as well as the parentage order. A different Attorney will be representing the surrogate. However, if you have one in particular you would like to work with, please let us know. It is very important that the Attorney is specialized in this area of the law.
Q: What is the timeline to schedule the funds transfer?
A:
1) Travel: depending on logistics between your gestational carrier and IVF clinic we will determine if travel is necessary. Funds must be deposited into the trust account to cover these expenses, this is also the time you will sign the agency retainer and make your first agency fee transfer. Time period to choose a candidate anywhere from 1 week to 3 months.
2) IVF clinic: once you know which candidate you going to work with, payment with the IVF clinic must be arranged for her screening. The time period for the clinic to arrange candidate screening will be anywhere from 1 week to a month as it is based on her menstrual process.
3) Agency and Legal: once your candidate has been approved by the IVF clinic you are ready to move to the legal contract stage. Also, the second agency fee is due at this point. Time period for the contract to be drafted 2 weeks and to be executed anywhere from 3 weeks to a month.
4) Monitoring clinic: once IVF clinic has received legal clearance from your Attorney, the clinic will start working on a calendar schedule for the start medication and embryo transfer, once the final agency fee paid the schedule is released. There will be a series of monitoring tests that must be done between the start of the medication and the embryo transfer. These tests consist on blood (estradiol, progesterone, HCG, LH, FSH, CBC) and ultrasounds consisting of evaluation of endometrial lining (thickness & pattern), also, ovarian activity (R/O cysts, follicle number and follicle size). After the embryo(s) has being transferred the series of monitoring test will continue from that date to the 12th week of pregnancy. Payments are set up through your card (debit or credit) by the clinic.
5) Trust Account: once the gestational agreement has been executed, we will require for you to deposit the total amount for your surrogate’s trust account. This will need to be done before an embryo transfer can take place.
Q: What are the payment methods?
A: Bank wire transfer, credit/debit card, Western Union, MoneyGram. Please note that United States customs allows you to enter to the United States up to 9,999.00 USD without paying any fees each time you travel. You must declare the amount you enter in cash or travel checks but if it is less than 10,000.00 USD you do not have to pay any fees. Also, we recommend opening a bank account in the States under your name, that way you can transfer all the funds at once from your account overseas to your account in the States. The only information you need to open a bank account is your passport.
Q: Would the agency be there with me when my child is born?
A: Yes, your case coordinator or agency representative will be there. Please note that your case coordinator will be taking care of your case 24/7. Because we are working with human bodies with tentative schedules, we work day and night to make the transition of your process is as smooth as possible.
Q: Would the agency be helping me with my child’s post-birth documentation?
A: Yes, we make sure you have all the required documents you need to get back home, and we do it in a timely matter.
Q: How long do I need to be in the States once my child has been born?
A: If your child is born healthy, you must stay a minimum of 2 weeks.
Q: After I finish the donation process, will there be any other responsibilities required from me?
A: We require that you keep us updated with your contact information and any new medical issues that arise up to 18 years after your retrieval. keep in mind that until you disclose these new issues, the maternal medical history of the conceived child/children will remain a mystery to them and would cause uncertainty about their child/children’s health.
Q: How long does it take? How does it work?
A: After travelling to the clinics, the donor will receive daily hormone injections for about 2 weeks to stimulate her ovarian production. She is closely monitored by a clinic physician throughout this process by vaginal ultrasound and blood hormone tests. Once her eggs are “ready”, she is scheduled for a procedure (retrieval) to remove the eggs from her ovaries. This procedure is done under sedation in an outpatient setting without pain.
Q: Where does the process take place?
A: You will start the process with simple medication where ever you are and then travel to our fully equipped and modern clinics in California, and Nevada USA to complete the process.
Q: Does it hurt?
A: You may experience mild abdominal cramps or discomfort like menstrual cramps after the procedure and are encouraged to relax for the rest of the day.
Q: How safe is the egg donation procedure?
A: Egg donation has been around for 30 years and more than 100,000 babies have been born through this method. All medical procedures are not without some risk. However, egg retrieval is considered a low risk minimally invasive procedure, and today you have less than 1% chance of any severe side effects. Egg donation should not affect your fertility-the eggs retrieved are only taken from your current month's menstrual cycle and those same eggs would have been discarded by your body anyway. Your future eggs will be safe and you should have no issues getting pregnant later.
Q: Can I still donate if I have had my tubes tied?
A: Yes. The eggs are produced and retrieved directly from your ovaries – it doesn’t require use of the fallopian tubes.
Q. Is it ok for me to take my birth control pill?
A: Yes, you will be required to take birth control pills as prescribed by the clinic.
Q: Can I run out of eggs if I donate them to someone else?
A: No. Each woman begins with many eggs in their ovaries. During a normal menstrual cycle, a woman's ovaries develop many follicles; one egg is selected to mature for ovulation while the rest of the follicles are discarded and absorbed into the woman's body. Egg donation stimulates these follicles to maturity. Most donors will have 10 to 20 eggs retrieved each donation cycle.
Q: Will the egg donation process affect my future fertility?
A: No, the egg donation process does not affect your future fertility.
Q: Do I meet the recipients that I donate my eggs to?
A: Most donations are anonymous, but a meeting can be arranged if both you and the recipients are comfortable with a meeting. It would not create an obligation for the two parties to continue a relationship after the retrieval. In most cases, it is only a chance for the recipient to better understand their donor's personality and ask remaining questions that were not addressed in the donor's profile. These meetings can be attended with a clinic counselor or agency staff and only first names are given-some donors may choose to use an alias.
Q: Will any children from my donation ever be able to find me?
A: This process is an anonymous donation, the couple will not be able to find your personal identification, such as your name and personal contact information. They will only know your characteristics from your donor profile. However, if the child does want to look for the donor, and both the couple and the donor agreed, he/she is suggested to wait until they are an adult.
Q: What are the risks?
A: The primary risk is a condition called Ovarian Hyper-stimulation Syndrome. This is relatively rare (1-3% of IVF cases). Careful monitoring will be done by doctors to avoid this possibility. Symptoms include weight gain and a feeling of extreme bloating. Also, as with any procedure, a risk of infection exists, you will most likely be given antibiotics to avoid this. Lastly, around the time of the egg retrieval, your body will become extremely fertile and abstaining from intercourse will be required to avoid an unwanted and likely multiple-birth pregnancy.
Q: Will I miss a lot of school or work?
A: You will spend about 15-20 days with the whole process as we want you to receive the very best treatment. It is very important that you recognize the level of responsibility required in making and keeping these appointments, and in doing so, be very honest with yourself as to whether or not donation would be possible for you and your work, school and personal schedule.
Q: How many times can I donate? How often can I donate?
A: You can donate up to six times, with 2-3 months apart.
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