Surrogacy

A long, long time ago, before the advent of ART, surrogacy was done in the 'natural' way and this is the only means to help infertile couples. Later, when artificial insemination was designed, surrogacy became more socially acceptable. The husband's sperm is inseminated into the surrogate mother's uterus (the woman who will get pregnant and deliver the baby for the infertile couple). In this case, the baby born is not genetically-related to the infertile woman.

Until recent when ART is available, the infertile couple will contribute their own eggs and sperm and the fertilised embryos will be genetically-related to the infertile couple. These embryos will be transferred back to the surrogate mother's uterus and she will carry on the pregnancy until term and delivery. After delivery, the baby will be handed back to the infertile couple. Usually there will be a pre-arrangement between the infertile couple and the surrogate mother. The surrogate mother is usually paid a fee in helping to carry on the pregnancy.

The indications of surrogacy include:

  • repeated miscarriage
  • absence of the uterus
  • certain medical conditions that will make pregnancy life-threatening to the woman

Usually, the IVF is performed prior to the surrogacy. The infertile couple have to undergo the process of IVF until the stage when the embryos are four cells. The four-cell embryos are then transfered back to the uterus of the surrogate mother (see video). Prior to the embryo transfer, the endometrium of the surrogate mother will be prepared so that the endometrium is at the window of implantation and ready to accept the implantation of the embryos. It is important to synchronize both the surrogate mother's and infertile woman's menstrual cycle so that the endometrium of the surrogate mother is ready at the time of embryo transfer. If synchronization is not possible, embryo freezing is mandatory and embryo transfer is done at a later date when the surrogate mother's endometrium is ready.

The surrogate mothers can be relatives, friends or anonymous. They will be screened prior to the procedure to ensure that they are free of transmitted diseases and healthy enough to carry on a pregnancy to term.

Surrogacy, however, remains controversial in some countries and in others the procedure is disallowed.

(Note: this is for information only, we do not provide surrogacy service.)