If you’re considering becoming a surrogate, you’re probably excited to help a hopeful couple achieve their dreams of parenthood, but you might have questions about the path that will take you there.
Whether you’re worried that you’ll have to use your own eggs for surrogacy or you want to know if this is a possibility for you, we can offer insight into whose eggs will be used for your surrogacy journey.
With surrogacy being a relatively newly-embraced family-building method, there are still misconceptions about today’s practices. Our agency provides gestational surrogacy services, which means only the intended parents and the egg donor (if applicable) are involved in the IVF process.
If you have specific questions about our medical process, you can call us at 1-800-875-2229 or contact us online.
If you’re a hopeful parent wanting to grow your family through surrogacy and wondering “Does a surrogate use their own egg?” you can find out more about the surrogacy medical process here.
Do Surrogates Use Their Own Eggs?
As a gestational surrogate, your eggs will not be used in the surrogacy process. The eggs of the intended mother or a donor will be used to create the embryo that will grow into the child that you will carry.
What is a Gestational Surrogate?
A common misconception about surrogacy is that the surrogate will use her own eggs for the surrogacy process. This is not the case in gestational surrogacy. As a gestational surrogate, also known as a gestational carrier, you will carry and deliver the intended parents’ child, but you will not be involved in the creation of the embryo.
A traditional surrogacy arrangement is when the surrogate uses her own egg for the pregnancy. This practice has become outdated in the U.S. and we do not condone it. Using traditional methods puts everyone at risk of legal and emotional turmoil through the surrogacy process.
Can a Surrogate Use Their Own Eggs if They Want to?
If you want to be a surrogate and use your own eggs, this is possible through traditional surrogacy. Unfortunately, like most surrogacy agencies, we do not provide traditional surrogacy services due to the possible legal disruptions that could occur. If you already know someone you want to be a surrogate for who is comfortable with using your eggs, you could pursue surrogacy without an agency.
Be advised that while independent surrogacy is an option, you will be responsible for your surrogacy journey. This means you will need to find your own legal and medical professionals, your surrogacy expenses won’t be covered for you, etc. On top of that, you will want to consider the legal and emotional implications involved with using your own eggs, as well as how it may affect your dynamic with the couple whose child you're carrying.
IVF and Gestational Surrogacy
When the parents decide surrogacy is the right path for them, it’s often because they want to be genetically connected to their child. If possible, the eggs and sperm of the intended parents will be used in the surrogacy medical process. If the intended mother is not able to provide viable eggs, or they are a same-sex couple, they will work with an egg donor.
It is safer for all parties to use a donor egg if necessary, rather than yours. It minimizes the chance of legal complications for the intended parents that could arise when they begin the process of claiming parentage of their child, as well as the potential of you becoming emotionally attached to the child.
If the intended mother can provide her eggs, she will go through the IVF egg retrieval process or she will use eggs already retrieved for previous IVF attempts. After this process, they will use the sperm of the dad or a donor to create the embryo.
The Surrogate Embryo Transfer Procedure
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Complete the medical evaluation to ensure you are healthy and physically ready for surrogacy.
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Take medications as directed by your fertility clinic to prepare your body for the embryo transfer.
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The embryo will be transferred to your uterus in a relatively quick and painless procedure.
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A week after the embryo transfer you will return to the clinic to test your pregnancy hormone levels and determine if the embryo transfer was successful.
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Proceed with regular prenatal care.
Get Started Today
Our surrogacy specialists are ready to assist you in navigating the surrogacy process. Whether you have questions about the medical process or want to start your application, we can help. Contact us today.