Timeframe and Medical Process Once Intended Parents have engaged a surrogacy agency, finding a surrogate usually takes 3 to 6 months. When matched, both the surrogate and the IPs must go through medical and psychological screening, which typically takes 2 to 6 weeks, depending upon schedules and allowances for travel. This process includes infectious-disease testing for any party contributing genetic material to create the embryo, e.g., the Intended Father, who is contributing sperm, and the Egg Donor (for the purposes of this document, the Intended Mother or an anonymous egg donor will be called the Egg Donor). The surrogate must also undergo infectious-disease testing for the protection of the baby. Then the surrogate will have a gynecological exam and additional testing. Tests typically include a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test (an x-ray test) and/or a hysterosonogram (ultrasound test), which allows a physician to visualize and evaluate the uterus. This testing is usually completed within a one- or two-day visit to an IVF clinic. After this, preparing for embryo transfer can take 2 to 6 months depending upon the protocol of the IVF clinic, what method of birth control the surrogate is using (if applicable), and the timing of the surrogate’s and Egg Donor’s menstrual cycles. Sometimes the physician will have the surrogate go through a “mock cycle” in which she takes hormones and the lining of her uterus is monitored. Performing a mock cycle can take 4 to 6 weeks, depending upon where the surrogate is in her menstrual cycle. Once the surrogate is medically cleared, the menstrual cycles of the surrogate and the Egg Donor must be synchronized so that when eggs are retrieved from the donor, the surrogate’s uterus is ready to accept them. Then the Egg Donor will begin the cycle to stimulate egg production. She will be put on a protocol of hormones and monitored until the eggs are ready for the retrieval procedure. On the day of the egg retrieval, the physician will surgically remove the eggs from the donor and fertilize them with the Intended Father’s sperm. Three to five days later, one or two of the surviving embryos will be transferred to the uterus of the surrogate. Additional embryos can be frozen for use if the surrogate does not become pregnant after the first transfer; embryos can also be kept for use in conceiving a sibling. Two weeks after embryo transfer, the surrogate will undergo a blood test to determine whether she is pregnant.
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Surrogacy: A Step-by-Step Guide
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