Think of the embryo like a delivery truck… Even if the truck is running well, the cargo it’s carrying may be spoiled and useless. The only way to know if the cargo is good is to open the truck and check what’s inside. Similarly, to know if an embryo can develop into a healthy fetus, you need to look inside at the chromosomes themselves – and that’s what PGS/PGT does.
Category Archives: Ask the Surrogacy Experts…
Questions from the Sensible Surrogacy community, answered by our team of consultants…
PLEASE NOTE: Information in this website is based on personal experience gained over many years of assisting infertile couples. Comments are intended as a Guide for those in need, but should not replace professional medical or legal advise. Any medical questions should ALWAYS be referred to a credentialed medical specialist before beginning any treatment.
Transporting Embryos to Surrogacy-Friendly Countries
You can take advantage of your local IVF clinic, conceive your embryos with a familiar doctor, and then transport the embryos to a country that’s more supportive of surrogacy. Couples do this all the time. But bringing embryos into the United States is a unique challenge.
Is Surrogacy in Developing Countries Secure?
In many countries, surrogacy programs pop-up because there are no legal restrictions and fewer barriers to entry for an opportunistic surrogacy agency. But just because surrogacy in “not illegal” in some country, that does not mean it’s secure. There are still plenty of risks in unregulated countries.
What to Include in Your Surrogacy Contract
Here are some topics that should be covered in your Gestational Surrogacy agreement. The Basics The surrogate will carry the pregnancy on behalf of the Intended Parents. The surrogate will receive an embryo, conceived by the egg and sperm of the Intended Parents (or a donor they select). The surrogate will do everything in her…
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Can I use both an Egg & Sperm Donor for my Surrogacy Journey?
I’m a single woman in my 40s. I have always wanted to have children, but I never found the right partner. Now I’m too old to donate my own eggs, and I still don’t have a partner to be the father. I want to try surrogacy to have a baby, but is it possible to…
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Understanding the “Gestational Age” of your pregnancy
If you’re planning your travel to pick up your baby, you may be tempted to buy your airline tickets to arrive on the Estimated Due Date (EDD). That’s a bad idea because the date shown in the report is not the actual number of weeks of the pregnancy. The EDD is based on the “Gestational Age” of the fetus, not the “Chronological Age”.
Can I Pursue Surrogacy using Donor Eggs & Sperm?
Most parents just assume that the baby can easily get a passport and go home. But this is not true. If your baby is conceived using donor eggs and sperm, it won’t have any genetic relationship to you, and so will not be able to inherit your citizenship. Without citizenship, the baby isn’t eligible for a passport and won’t be able to travel home.
How to bring your surrogacy baby home from overseas?
When we flew back to the US with our newborns, it was the easiest flight of my life. Even at 3 weeks, newborns do really well on airplanes — the droning background noise makes them sleep even more than usual. The cabin crew also loved the babies and were happy to go above and beyond to get us anything we needed. But we did make some critical preliminary preparations…
Can a Surrogacy Contract Force me to Terminate a Pregnancy?
Would-be parents always ask me about the risk that the surrogate may change her mind and want to keep their baby. Nobody questions if the parents may change THEIR mind and decide they don’t want the baby. Frankly, the possibility should be banned by law — we expect such protections for the parents, so why not for the surrogate?
Chasing the $500 per Month Surrogacy Dream
I totally understand the struggle to afford a family. Ever since my children were born in India, I have been wracking my brain looking for affordable alternatives to $150K programs in the United States. There is some good news and bad news on that front.