Choosing surrogacy as a reproduction method by intended parents to welcome their new child is a significant decision. Making the best decision requires proper knowledge of surrogacy types and the risks for both intended parents and surrogate mothers could encounter them in the complicated surrogacy journey.
Surrogacy has two main types: Traditional and gestational surrogacy. In this article of TebMedTourism, we will answer the significant question “traditional vs. gestational surrogacy, which one is better?”
Stay with us and read the article to get information on the definition of the types of surrogacy, discuss the differences between both types, observing all influential factors and elements that can impress in both types of surrogacy and the most popular type of surrogacy.
These factors divided in two sections: 1. medical and 2. Legal.
TebMedTourism, as an international facilitator company in medical fields, by considering medical and legal aspects, can turn the surrogacy journey into the best experience in the life of intended parents and dependent on them, the surrogate mother.
Surrogacy in Iran |
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|---|---|
Legacy | Legal |
Cost | 19,000$ (needs more consultation) |
Anesthesia | No |
Hospital Stay | Zero day |
Minimum Stay in Iran | 3 to 4 weeks |
Surrogacy Types
There are two major types of surrogacy: traditional and gestational. It is safe to say that nowadays the gestational surrogacy is more popular option. But it is essential to know both options differences and advantages and disadvantages of surrogacy to decide which one is the best choice for you.
What is gestational surrogacy?
In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate (a woman who carries the baby) is not biologically linked to the child that she is carrying. In other words, she doesn’t share her DNA with the baby, and also, the baby doesn’t look like her.
IVF, or in vitro fertilization, is a reproduction method that is used to generate the embryo in a lab (IVF). The intended father’s (or donor’s) sperms and the intended mother’s (or donor’s) eggs are used to generating the embryo. After that, it will be transferred to the surrogate’s uterus.
In exceptional cases in surrogacy for HIV-positive couples, two steps for preparing sperm are essential. ART (antiretroviral therapy) and sperm washing procedures should apply to sperm before using IVF in these cases.
What is Traditional surrogacy?
Traditional surrogacy, also called genetic surrogacy as the surrogate is the genetic mother and shares her DNA. Traditional surrogacy is one of the oldest reproduction methods that surrogates utilize their own ova in producing an embryo.
In traditional surrogacy procedures, because using sperm from the intended father or a sperm donor, the embryos are created go in through IUI. After IUI, the surrogate mother should have special consideration to increase the IUI success rate. A High IUI success rate enhances exceedingly the success rate of surrogacy.
Similar to the other reproduction fertility process to increase the success rate, the age of the surrogate and egg donor is very important.
On the other hand, traditional surrogacy can be legally and emotionally complicated because the biological mother is the same surrogate mother, so in choosing the surrogacy agency, you should be careful so that everything is managed well.
Traditional Surrogacy: What are the pros and cons?
In traditional (partial) surrogacy, the surrogate is fertilized by the sperm of the intended father by using IVF or ICSI method or intrauterine insemination (IUI). The important issue is that she uses her own eggs so she is the biological mother of the baby. In this process, she must refuse her parental rights and give the full custody of the baby to the intended parents. In most cases, the surrogate remains unknown forever but in other cases they may decide to let the surrogate have a part in the child’s life in limited regards.
The positive point of this type of surrogacy is that it is cheaper because it may not need IVF process and an injection of father’s sperm would be adequate. Moreover, finding an egg donor and doing the egg retrieval process are not required.
Among the negative points of traditional surrogacy, the legal parental rights of the surrogate are remarkable issues. It is an emotional process and the surrogate can change her mind and decide to keep the baby. The intended parents need to complete a post-birth adoption contract to gain the custody of the baby. Due to these potential conflicts, American surrogacy and many of the agencies do not conduct the traditional surrogacy.
Gestational Surrogacy: What are the pros and cons?
In gestational surrogacy (full or host surrogacy), the surrogate dos not share her genetics with the baby. The eggs and sperms of the intended parents (or donors) are combined to make the embryo(s) then by the use of infertility treatment techniques (IVF or ICSI) it is implanted into the surrogate’s uterus. Thus she is merely the carrier of the baby. The embryo is transferred through the catheter which is simple and painless and doesn’t require anesthesia.
One of the positive points of this type is that both intended parents can be genetically related to the baby. Your mind is in peace because you know that you have the full parental rights of the baby. Also this type of surrogacy has a high success rate.
For the negative points of this type of surrogacy, the higher cost of fertility treatments can be mentioned. You need to spend extra money and time to harvest the eggs of the intended mother or a donor. Sometimes multiple IVF attempts are needed before pregnancy happens. The surrogate expenses have to be carefully considered by the intended parents. And finally you have to control your feelings about your future baby and trust the surrogate to deliver your baby safe and sound.
Differences of Traditional and Gestational Surrogacy
The main difference between the traditional and the gestational surrogacy is the biological links between the surrogate and the baby which can have many impacts on the other factors. We are going to talk about major factors briefly.
Egg Donor:
In traditional surrogacy, egg donor is not needed because the surrogate uses her own eggs but in gestational surrogacy an egg donor may be needed for single men, same-sex couples and women who do not have healthy eggs.
Medical procedure:
in traditional surrogacy, IVF is not necessarily needed and the surrogate mostly undergoes artificial insemination using intrauterine insemination (IUI) which is an easier process. In gestational surrogacy IVF or ICSI is required to create the embryo and transfer it into the surrogate’s uterus.
Costs:
traditional surrogacy is cheaper than gestational surrogacy because of the medical procedure differences. IVF is more expensive than IUI. Moreover, egg donation and fertility treatment of the intended mother are not required.
Waiting time:
waiting time for gestational pregnancy is shorter than traditional one because it is legally and emotionally easier for surrogates not to carry their own child. Hence, finding surrogates in gestational way takes less time.
Legal process:
traditional surrogacy often involves additional legal attempts because the surrogate is the biological mother of the baby and she has the parental rights which have to be terminated after the delivery. But in gestational surrogacy, the parentage of the child is established by the pre-order contract and the intended parents are the biological parents of the child so it faces less legal difficulties.
Risks:
although the cases in which the surrogate changes her mind and decides to keep the baby are rare but legal and emotional risks in traditional surrogacy are higher. It is because of the blood connection between the surrogate and the embryo which may cause the surrogate bond with the baby. In these cases, the intended parents and the agency would be involved and they have to fight for the custody in court.
Traditional vs gestational surrogacy
Surrogacy procedure includes two main processes, Medical and legal. In the following, we will describe medical and legal procedures that concentrate on them is necessary to make the best decision!
What is the medical process in traditional vs gestational surrogacy?
IUI and IVF, which are both utilized in traditional and gestational surrogacy, are quite different medical procedures.
What is IUI in traditional surrogacy
During IUI (Intrauterine insemination) treatment, the biological father’s sperm will be removed, and the doctor will then transfer that sperm into the surrogate’s uterus so that fertilization can occur spontaneously.
IUI vs IVF is typically easier process and requiring less fertility treatment for the surrogate. Remember that in traditional surrogacy, the surrogate also serves as the child’s biological mother.
What is IVF in gestational surrogacy
For gestational surrogacy, the IVF (In vitro fertilization) method entails fertilizing an egg in a lab with the intended father’s sperm and creating an embryo.
On the other side, in gestational surrogacy, since the eggs of the intended mother should be used to make the embryo, going through fertility treatments requires FSH and egg retrieval procedures before IVF.
With hopefully that pregnancy occur, fertility professionals will insert the viable embryo into the uterus of a surrogate. In this way, the surrogate mother and the baby don’t have any DNA (Genetic) connections.
What is the legal process in traditional vs gestational surrogacy?
The law processes of traditional vs. gestational surrogacy is frequently more complex.
- In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate is the child’s biological mother, and she has parental rights that must be legally terminated once the child is born.
- In the case of gestational surrogacy, parentage is determined prior to birth through a pre-birth order.
A professional agency in fertility treatment, will do all legal processes on the intended parents’ behalf. Therefore, many intended parents by choosing a professional agency going through surrogacy journey successfully and happily.
A legal specialist will handle both sides of the contract (intended parents and surrogate mother), Until the child is placed in the arms of her biological parents.
Traditional vs gestational surrogacy costs.
Overall, gestational surrogacy is more expensive than traditional surrogacy. IUI is less expensive than IVF and typically involves fewer medical procedures and fertility treatments, which is essentially the result of variations in the medical process.
Gestational surrogacy is a popular reproduction method among celebrities. One of the best examples of these celebrities is Kim Kardashian. On January 15, 2018, Kim welcomed her newborn from her gestational surrogate mother.
In California, the cost of gestational surrogacy changes from $100,000 to $200,000. On the other hand, these costs in IRAN, well-known as the cheapest country, are from $15,000 to $30,000.
What are the risks traditional vs gestational surrogacy?
Traditional surrogacy carries more emotional and legal risks than gestational surrogacy.
The surrogate is the child’s biological mother in traditional surrogacy, which may make it more difficult to transfer the child to the intended parents because she is more likely to develop an emotional attachment to the child.
Furthermore, because she has parental rights to the child, she has the legal option to withdraw the surrogacy agreement.
General Considerations
It is difficult to say which type of surrogacy is better because both of them have their pros and cons. So it should be considered precisely by both intended parents and surrogate and be decided based on their conditions and needs.
Cost of surrogacy is one of the most important elements for the couples that should be figured out. One of the important considerations is whether the intended mother wants to use her own eggs or needs an egg donor. If she wants to use her own eggs, then gestational surrogacy is the best choice. In order to achieve this goal, their budget is an important factor before starting. Candidates must afford multiple attempts of IVF and egg donation if they want to proceed with gestational way.
As we talked about the traditional surrogacy, surrogate and baby will have a biological relationship. So they should consider some related issues in advance, including whether the intended parents are comfortable with this biological links and also what kind of relationship they want to maintain with the surrogate.
In some Muslim countries, surrogacy is still a controversial subject. Therefore, due to the importance of this subject, we talked about surrogacy in Islam in our previous articles. If you are a Muslim and you are considering doing this process, you can check it out and get informed about Islamic rules on this topic.
Nowadays, Iran is one the best surrogacy bases for its affordable prices, expert physicians and high-quality services. You can get all the information you need at surrogacy in Iran.
At TebMedTourism, we are here to help you with your surrogacy journey. With our caring team, you can be sure about making the right choice and receiving a customized plan by the help of our experienced professionals. Contact TebMedTourism to speak with a surrogacy specialist and learn more about how we can help you grow your family. Our consultations are free of charge during the week 24/7.
If you need more information on this topic and want to consult, contact us NOW.
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