Making the decision to find a surrogate mother is not an easy one, both emotionally and financially. By the time a typical infertile couple comes to the conclusion that surrogacy might be the best way to grow their family, they have already spent countless amounts of money on various infertility treatments. And surrogacy is the most expensive infertility treatment of them all!
A typical gestational surrogacy can run anywhere from $30,000 on the low end, to upwards of $100,000+. In addition to the surrogate's compensation, intended parents need to account for clinic fees, medications, attorney fees, agency fees, maternity care, travel expenses and any other expense that occurs in a pregnancy.
So how are intended parents able to afford it? The truth is, surrogacy is financially out of reach for most couples. The ones that do choose surrogacy usually make incredible sacrifices in order to afford it.
Saving in Advance
The most practical method of affording surrogacy is to save in advance. Intended parents can sacrifice vacations, new cars, and other high-cost items in addition to saving every spare dollar and employment bonuses.
The problem with this is the sheer amount of time it takes to save up these kinds of funds. Couple that with the fact that many couples going through infertility are older parents to begin with, and you can see why this option is unattractive to many.
Financing
Some intended parents choose to take a second mortgage out on their homes or to take on some other sort of financial loan to afford surrogacy. It is even possible for some of them to borrow money from a family member. The downfall to this option is bringing a baby or babies into their lives on top of heavy debt.
Choosing Traditional Surrogacy
Gestational surrogacy can be very expensive, but a lesser expensive alternative is traditional surrogacy. Since a traditional surrogate mother becomes impregnated via artificial insemination, the in vitro fertilization fees are non-existent.
Some traditional surrogates will do home inseminations, eliminating the need for a clinic altogether. This can save the intended parents tens of thousands of dollars. The baby, however, would not be the biological child of the intended mother.
Trimming Fees
There are several fees intended parents may be able to trim, or even eliminate, when looking at surrogacy. Choosing to find a surrogate mother, either gestational or traditional, without the services of an agency is one option. Another option is to find a surrogate with a good health insurance plan.
There is also the option of finding a surrogate with low, or even nonexistent fees. Though it may seem impossible, there are many, many surrogates who would be willing to accept a low compensation to help another family achieve their dreams. In addition, sometimes a family member or close friend can act as a surrogate mother for the intended parents free of charge.
Egg Donation
Another option for surrogacy involves the intended mother becoming an egg donor herself. If her eggs are of good quality, and her infertility problems stem from her inability to carry a child, she might be able to receive compensation as an egg donor for another set of intended parents.
This is actually more common than most people realize. The compensation for a couple egg donations, added to a couple's savings and other options, may make surrogacy a financial possibility. The intended mother may even decide to go through a shared cycle to reduce her fees for the egg retrieval in relation to her surrogacy.
Those outside the surrogacy community may have trouble understanding the mindset behind these phenomenal sacrifices. But to those who have been struggling with infertility for a very long time, even with the financial hardship, surrogacy is dream come true.
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