What is Surrogacy?
A surrogate is a woman who carries
the baby to term and delivery for an infertile couple.
The genetic mother may have damage
to her uterus that makes carrying a child impossible.
This would include women who have had uterine cancer,
a uterus damaged by infection, congenital uterine abnormalities,
and others. Sometimes the health of the genetic mother
prevents her from carrying a baby or she may have a
history of recurrent
miscarriages.
What is Gestational and Traditional Surrogacy?
There are two types of surrogates
which are known as traditional surrogates and gestational
surrogates. A traditional surrogate becomes pregnant
using her own eggs combined with the intended father's
sperm using either intrauterine
insemination (IUI) or IVF. A child conceived using
a traditional surrogate therefore has the genetic material
of the intended father and surrogate. The gestational
surrogate carries the embryo produced from an IVF cycle
using the eggs and sperm from the intended mother and
father. A child conceived using a gestational surrogate
is therefore created by using the genetic material from
both of the intended parents and not from the surrogate.
In traditional surrogacy, the
surrogate undergoes ovulation induction with follicle
stimulating hormones. This causes the development
of multiple follicles, each of which contains an egg.
If IUI is used, an injection of hCG is given to trigger
ovulation and an insemination is performed. If IVF is
used, the surrogate must also undergo an egg retrieval,
and embryo transfer. Once retrieved the eggs are combined
with the father's sperm and the resultant embryos are
transferred back to the surrogate.
In gestational surrogacy, the infertile
couple undergoes a standard IVF
cycle to produce their own genetic embryos. The
reproductive cycles of the surrogate and mother are
synchronized so that the embryos can be transferred
to the surrogate at the appropriate time. A
surrogate can be a friend, family member, a volunteer,
or compensated. All surrogates undergo extensive physical
and psychological screening to insure their suitability.
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