Surrogacy process is a new path for so many couples who cannot have a baby without help. It is a common procedure for those who are looking forward to expanding their families and having the experience of parenthood.
Even though it might not be the dream of many people to have a baby that way, it is still a wonderful option to make the dream of parenthood come true.
Most people have different questions related to the surrogacy process and how it works, whether they are thinking about growing their families or they want to be a surrogate and give the opportunity of parenthood to others.
(This article has been updated on10/11/2022)
What exactly is surrogacy?
In the simple terms we can say that surrogacy is a procedure that involves a woman to carry an embryo in her womb and go through 9-month period of pregnancy for another couple.
The couple who raise the newborn are referred to as the intended parents.If you are thinking about whether surrogacy is the best choice for you, go ahead and read more about the advantages and disadvantages of surrogacy in infertility treatment.
What are the Different Types of Surrogacy?
Surrogacy can allow one or both parents to be linked to the child genetically. So how does the procedure work? There are two kinds of surrogacy. One of them is called gestational surrogacy and the other one is traditional surrogacy. We will go through them both in the following.
Gestational Surrogacy
In Gestational surrogacy, surrogate is not biologically connected to the child. Eggs and sperms are derived from the intended couple or a donor. After that, by using one of the ways of infertility treatment (IVF in Iran or ICSI), fetus is formed. The fetus is grown in laboratory environment for about 3 to 6 days and then there are two options that can be undertaken.
Fetus can either be frozen and saved for future use or it can be transferred to the uterus of the surrogate. If everything goes well and pregnancy occurs, she carries the embryo to the end of pregnancy and delivers the baby to the intended parents.
Traditional Surrogacy
In this process, the surrogate and egg donor are the same person, so the embryo is genetically linked to the carrier and she is the biological mother of the baby. Her egg is fertilized by using the sperms of a donor or intended father through IVF or ICSI method. While this method seems to be easier and cheaper, you have to be cautious about that and carefully consider the legal support for those who are involved.
Although this journey can look relatively different for intended couples based on their country law and other circumstances, there are some steps that can be considered common among all cases. We as the TebMedTourism Co. professional team in Iran, are going to clarify how to start a surrogacy process. You can also read more about surrogacy in Iran if you are interested. Below you can read a general outline of what to expect during the process.
surrogacy process step-by-step in 2023:
In the surrogacy process step-by-step, the gestational carrier gets pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF). The embryo is created by fertilizing the egg and sperm of the intended parents or donors in a laboratory environment. Then the embryo is transferred to the womb of the surrogate via a catheter. After two weeks, if the pregnancy test is positive, the surrogate has been impregnated successfully. She raises the fetus in her uterus for 9 months and delivers the baby to the intended parents.
The Six Steps of Surrogacy Process
Step one: Consulting with a physician and Deciding if surrogacy is the best choice
The first step in each surrogacy procedure is to carefully consider whether there are other options or surrogacy is the best and last choice for you.
Being a surrogate or a parent through surrogacy can be a life-changing decision. It can involve you emotionally and it is a huge commitment for both parties so you have to meet your physician and review the options and be informed about the matching process, legal works, insurance details, surrogacy cost, etc. You seriously need to consider the pros and cons of this routine and finalize your decision. If you are still uncertain about it, you can ask a surrogacy agency for more information.
Step two: Finding donors and Surrogate matching
Once you have decided that surrogacy is the right choice for you, you need to draw an outline for your plans for the surrogacy process and consider several factors to make decisions based on your situation. These are the most important considerations in this process:
- Choosing your type of surrogacy (gestational or traditional)
- Deciding whether you need donor(s) or not
- Deciding if you need a surrogacy agency to help you throughout the whole journey or if you want to do it independently.
- If you need an agency, which one would be the best?
After choosing the type of surrogacy, selecting a donor is the next step for intended couples. This decision could be interesting and important at the same time because the egg or sperm donor will be genetically linked to the future baby. These links go beyond just appearance. They can also have an influence on personality features, potential future health conflicts, etc. In this case, you should not only consider the donor’s own genetics but the whole genetics tree running in their families.
When the surrogacy agency identifies the intended parents and the surrogate, the agency presents the profiles and the whole details of both parties for evaluation and to see if there is an interest to match or not. If they are interested, they may get to know each other through phone calls, emails, or face-to-face meetings.
Step three: Going through legal requirements
If everything goes well, they may make it official by drafting initial contracts. Each party will have its own attorney to protect its legal interests. The lawyers will meet each party and discuss all the aspects of the process with them. They will review the contract that has been drafted to make sure it will fulfill your needs. Once the contracts are signed, it is time for moving on to the next step.
Step four: Surrogacy process: by IVF or ICSI
For the IVF process, the male parent (or donor) gives a sperm sample. Also, an egg retrieval process happens on the female parent (or donor). It is good to know that these two procedure does not have to occur on the same day because sperm can stay frozen safely for several years. Then the sperm and egg will be combined in a laboratory so that the embryos are formed. The medical team will let you know how many embryos are mature and have a well growth to be transferred to the womb.
ICSI process is different from the IVF process by this way that the sperm will be injected into each individual egg to skip the stage of natural sperm penetration.
Step five: Transferring the embryo(s) and Starting the pregnancy process
Before transferring the embryo(s), the surrogate will undergo fertility treatments. After creating an embryo, it will be transferred to the uterus. This procedure is simple and the surrogate can go home right after that.
Once a healthy pregnancy is confirmed, the surrogate will go under fertility clinic monitoring. She also starts receiving payments for compensation and monthly allowance. The surrogate and the intended couple share the 9-month of pregnancy and emotional support until the end of the journey.
Step six: Delivery and Saying hello to the newborn!
After the baby is born and the surrogate is discharged from the hospital, they can all go home and start their new lives. By growing their family, they now start feeling the joy of parenthood and plan the whole future together by knowing the huge responsibilities they will have. On the other side, the surrogate is pleased to give this priceless opportunity to a couple who didn’t really have any hope left to become parents in the beginning.
Author:
This article has been approved by the TebMedTourism medical team (Dr. Bazazi and & Dr. Mohammadzadeh).
How does the surrogacy process work?
In the surrogacy process, the surrogate will carry the fetus of another couple or individual in her uterus for the duration of pregnancy. When the baby is born, the surrogates hands the baby over to the intended parents. This process can be done for humanitarian reasons or in return for receiving certain amount as the compensation.
What is the first step for surrogacy?
The first step in the surrogacy process is consultation and comprehensive evaluation to see if this is the best option for you. If you decided to proceed with this process, you should find an experienced surrogacy agency to help you in medical and legal works. You should also consider the laws related to surrogacy in both the destination country and your own country.
If you need more information on this topic and want to consult, contact us NOW.
The consultant medical doctors of TebMedTourism Co. are at your service for free.
