Gestational Surrogate Carrier

A gestational carrier is a woman who volunteers to carry a pregnancy for another woman, and is frequently compensated for her time and potential pain and suffering.  Unlike traditional surrogacy arrangements, a “gestational” carrier has no genetic connection to the child she carries.

To become a gestational carrier, a woman must have experienced at least one full term live birth and be less than 40 years old.  She must be free of physical or mental conditions that could pose a risk to herself or the fetus.  Arrangements begin with a thorough screening and matching process, followed by the formation of legal agreements to ensure that all parties are protected.

A patient who has any type of medical condition that prevents her from carrying a pregnancy to term will need IVF with Gestational Surrogacy.  This includes women who have a missing or malformed uterus, certain immunological disorders, or any disease that makes pregnancy risky, e.g. Cardiac, Rheumatologic and Neurologic diseases or bleeding disorders.  In order to use a gestational carrier, however, it is necessary that the infertile woman have a useable supply of eggs for fertilization or an appropriate egg donor available.

To begin the process, the menstrual cycles of the patient and the surrogate are synchronized.  Both women are given medications to control the progression of their cycles and bring them in ”synch”, so that the uterus of the carrier is ready to receive the embryos when they are ready to be transferred.  The biological mother or egg donor undergoes ovulation induction and egg retrieval, just as in standard IVF.  When the embryos are ready, they are transferred  into the uterus of the gestational surrogate.

In most cases, the parents stay in contact with the gestational surrogate, providing support throughout the pregnancy.  Typically, all financial and legal agreements are agreed upon before treatment begins.