Surrogacy questions, answered

Most surrogates we work with are 21 to 38, have already had at least one healthy pregnancy and delivery, and are raising children of their own.

Our clinical partners also look at things like a body mass index in their accepted range, a smoke-free and drug-free home, no serious complications in past pregnancies, and living in one of the states we serve. None of this is a checklist you have to be flawless on. If you are close, apply and we will tell you honestly where you stand. You can see the full picture on our surrogates page, go condition by condition in the eligibility guide, or start an application.

Often, yes. None of those rule you out on their own.

Tubal ligation does not matter for gestational surrogacy, because the embryo is placed directly into the uterus. PCOS and a history of C-sections are reviewed case by case with the fertility clinic, usually based on how many sections you have had and how those pregnancies went. Our surrogate eligibility guide answers these condition by condition. The honest answer depends on your records, so the quickest way to know is to reach out.

You begin with a short application, then we guide you through screening and matching.

After you apply, a coordinator reviews your information and reaches out, usually within a couple of business days. Next comes medical and background screening with the clinic and a counseling conversation, and once you are cleared we begin matching you with intended parents whose hopes line up with yours. You can read the full step by step on how surrogacy works, or apply now.

It is a fair thing to wonder, and most surrogates do not feel it the way people expect.

A gestational surrogate is not genetically related to the baby she carries, and she goes in knowing the baby is going home with its parents. Most describe the feeling as looking after someone else's child for a while, and feeling proud rather than torn. Screening includes counseling so you can think it through honestly before you commit, and that emotional support stays with you through the pregnancy and the weeks after.

You get a dedicated coordinator and steady medical, emotional, and legal support from screening through recovery.

Your coordinator is your main point of contact the whole way, helping with appointments, paperwork, and the everyday questions. Counseling is available before and during the pregnancy, your own attorney reviews your contract so your interests are protected, and the support continues into the postpartum weeks. You are not meant to figure any of this out alone.

In gestational surrogacy you are the legal parents, and that is settled in writing before any pregnancy begins.

The surrogate has no genetic link to the baby, and parentage is established through a signed contract and, in most of the states we serve, a court order. Because everyone is screened and counseled before matching, and expectations are agreed up front, this situation is very rare. Our surrogacy laws page explains how parentage is protected state by state.

Yes. LGBTQ+ parents are welcome here, and surrogacy is a well established path for them in the states we serve.

With the right legal contracts, both partners are recognized as parents, and we coordinate egg or sperm donation when it is part of your plan. Read more on our LGBTQ+ families page, or talk it through with us directly.

Yes. Single parents are welcome, and the legal path is well established in the states we serve.

You might use your own eggs or sperm, donor eggs, or donor sperm depending on your situation, and we help you plan the medical and legal pieces around it. Tell us what you are hoping for on the intended parents page.

It is a court order, signed before birth, that names you as the legal parents from the moment your baby arrives.

In states that allow them, a pre-birth order means your names go on the birth certificate without a separate adoption step. Where a pre-birth order is not available, a post-birth parentage judgment does the same job. Which one applies depends on your state, and our surrogacy laws page breaks it down.

Not necessarily. Many intended parents use their own eggs and sperm.

When one or both are needed, we help you find screened egg or sperm donors and fold that into your plan. You can read about both programs on our egg donors and sperm donors pages.

We match on the things that actually make the relationship work, not on paperwork alone.

That means values, medical preferences (how many embryos to transfer, views on selective reduction and multiples), how much contact each side wants, and communication style. We share vetted profiles with both sides and stay close through the first introductions, so a match feels right before anyone commits.

The research so far has not found that donating eggs lowers your own chances of having children later.

Every cycle, your body matures a batch of eggs and reabsorbs the ones it does not use. Donation works with that same batch, so it does not dip into the eggs you would have saved for the future. The fertility field generally agrees on this, and your screening checks your own fertility markers before you begin. Read more on the egg donors page.

Egg donors are usually 21 to 30, in good health, non-smokers, and willing to complete medical and psychological screening.

A clear family medical history helps, and the screening looks closely at your health before anything moves forward. If that sounds like you, you can apply as an egg donor or read more on the egg donors page.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends no more than six cycles.

That limit protects your health and lowers the chance that donor-conceived children could one day turn out to be closely related without knowing it. We track this carefully across your donations.

Sperm donors are usually 18 to 30 and pass a detailed health and family-history review along with screening tests.

The process is thorough on purpose, and we walk you through each step. You can start on the sperm donors page or apply as a sperm donor.

It can be. We offer both anonymous and known arrangements.

Which one fits depends on your preferences and any legal requirements, and we explain what each choice means before you decide. The sperm donors page has more.

An embryo created through IVF is transferred to a surrogate, who carries the pregnancy for the intended parents.

The embryo is made from the intended parents' eggs and sperm, donor material, or a combination of the two, then placed in the surrogate's uterus. She carries and delivers the baby, but she is not genetically related to it. You can see the whole process laid out on how surrogacy works.

A gestational surrogate has no genetic tie to the baby. A traditional surrogate does. We only do gestational surrogacy.

Traditional surrogacy uses the surrogate's own egg, which creates a genetic link and a far more complicated legal and emotional picture. Gestational surrogacy, made possible by IVF, keeps the surrogate genetically separate from the child, and it is the standard today.

No. In gestational surrogacy the surrogate shares no DNA with the baby she carries.

The baby's genetics come from the egg and sperm used to make the embryo, whether that is from the intended parents, from donors, or a mix of both. The surrogate provides a healthy place for the pregnancy to grow, and nothing about that changes the baby's DNA.

For most families it runs about 15 to 24 months from application to birth.

Matching can take a few weeks to a few months, the medical and legal steps add roughly three to four months, and the pregnancy itself is the usual nine. Your own timeline depends on screening, matching, and how the medical side goes, so treat these as a guide rather than a promise.

It varies a great deal, so we give you real numbers in a private consultation rather than a misleading figure here.

Cost depends on things like insurance, how many embryo transfers are needed, the legal work in your state, and which donation or screening services are part of your plan. Our surrogacy costs guide breaks down every component and what moves it. We would rather walk you through an honest, itemized picture for your own situation than post a number that turns out to be wrong for you. Contact us when you are ready.

Surrogacy is governed state by state, and gestational surrogacy is well established in most of the country. We currently work in 43 states.

Laws differ from state to state, and California is one of the most surrogacy-friendly in the country. We do not currently place in New York, Florida, Texas, or Rhode Island, where surrogacy is legally established but outside our service area right now, or in Louisiana, where the statute sharply limits compensated surrogacy. Our surrogacy laws page gives a state-by-state map and guide, and our locations page shows where we work.

Both build families, but surrogacy usually means a genetic tie to your child and involvement from embryo transfer through birth.

With gestational surrogacy, the baby is often connected to one or both intended parents, and you are part of the pregnancy from the start. Adoption places a child who already exists with a new family, and the timelines, costs, and legal steps work differently. We are glad to talk through which path fits your situation.

A real person from our team follows up, usually within two business days, to learn what you are looking for.

There is no obligation and no pressure. We answer your questions, explain the options that fit whether you are an intended parent, a potential surrogate, or a donor, and only move forward when you are ready. You can call or text (626) 528-6868, or send your details through our contact page.