Surrogacy and Egg Donation FAQ for Intended Parents, Surrogates, and Donors

Gestational surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries a pregnancy for intended parents using an embryo created through IVF. The gestational surrogate has no genetic relationship to the baby because her own egg is not used.

The best way to start surrogacy is to confirm your embryo or fertility treatment status, understand your budget, review agency structure and screening standards, and discuss your timeline before committing to a match. EDSI begins with a private consultation to identify what is already in place and what still needs coordination.

For intended parents, surrogacy usually moves through preparation, surrogate identification and matching, preliminary review, fertility clinic medical clearance, separate legal representation, insurance and escrow planning, embryo transfer, pregnancy coordination, and delivery preparation. EDSI coordinates these moving parts while independent professionals make decisions within their roles.

Yes. Intended parents can usually continue working with their existing fertility doctor or clinic if that clinic participates in gestational surrogacy. The clinic controls medical treatment and embryo transfer, while EDSI coordinates matching, screening logistics, legal, insurance, and escrow steps around the medical plan.

Finding a surrogate can take weeks to several months because timing depends on availability, compatibility, location, embryo readiness, legal considerations, and clinic requirements. EDSI currently advises many intended parents to plan for roughly 1 to 3 months to identify and mutually agree on a potential surrogate, although individual timelines vary.

Surrogate matching should combine eligibility with compatibility. EDSI considers expectations, communication style, location, embryo plans, involvement preferences, legal considerations, and current readiness, and both parties must agree to a proposed match.

Most U.S. surrogacy journeys take about 15 to 24 months from the first consultation to birth, although families with embryos already created may move faster. Matching is usually the biggest variable, followed by clinic scheduling, medical review, insurance coordination, legal work, and embryo transfer timing.

Yes. Intended parents who already have frozen embryos can pursue gestational surrogacy. The first steps are usually to confirm where the embryos are stored, which fertility clinic will perform the transfer, whether the embryos meet that clinic's requirements, and how matching, screening, legal, insurance, and transfer coordination will be handled.

Some U.S. surrogacy agencies, including EDSI, work with intended parents whose embryos are stored at another clinic or may need to be transported for transfer. The transfer clinic should confirm its requirements before shipment is arranged.

Before a match moves forward, EDSI conducts a preliminary review of the candidate's application, pregnancy and delivery records when available, health history, medications, lifestyle, support, insurance information, and compatibility factors. Independent evaluations occur later, and the intended parents' fertility clinic makes the final medical clearance decision.

Most agency assisted gestational surrogacy journeys in the United States require a planning budget of about $150,000 to $220,000 or more in 2026. The total can change based on surrogate compensation, IVF, insurance, legal work, escrow, travel, embryo transfer attempts, and whether embryos are already created.

Intended parents should budget for more than the headline agency fee and surrogate base compensation. Variable costs can include IVF or additional transfers, insurance premiums and deductibles, legal work, escrow, travel, lost wages, bed rest, specialty medical needs, and other contract based reimbursements.

Yes. Intended parents may use savings, employer fertility benefits, grants, home equity credit, fertility loans, or other financing. Eligibility, rates, and terms vary, so financing should be evaluated with appropriate financial or lending professionals.

Health insurance may cover some pregnancy related care in a surrogacy journey, but coverage depends on the surrogate's specific policy and whether surrogacy is excluded. EDSI coordinates insurance review early so potential exclusions and coverage gaps can be identified before treatment advances.

Independent third party escrow separates journey funds from the surrogacy agency's operating accounts. A bonded escrow provider holds and disburses funds according to the legal agreement, and EDSI does not hold or directly manage intended parent journey funds.

Choose a surrogacy agency by examining how it handles surrogate screening, matching, independent escrow, separate legal representation, insurance review, costs, communication, and rematching, not just brand names or promised speed. EDSI uses structured surrogacy coordination with independent professionals and a third party bonded escrow provider.

Ask how surrogate candidates are reviewed, who makes final medical clearance decisions, who holds journey funds, whether both parties have separate attorneys, when insurance is reviewed, what costs are fixed or variable, and what happens if a match cannot proceed. Clear written answers reveal more about an agency's structure than marketing claims alone.

Look for an agency that can clearly explain what it reviews before presenting a surrogate, who makes final medical decisions, how separate attorneys are coordinated, when insurance is reviewed, and who holds journey funds. EDSI separates its coordination role from clinic, legal, insurance, psychological, and escrow responsibilities.

A legitimate surrogacy agency should be transparent about its business identity, fees, screening process, matching policies, legal coordination, insurance review, escrow structure, communication responsibilities, and rematch terms. Be cautious if an agency holds journey funds itself or implies it can guarantee medical clearance, pregnancy, or a live birth.

Red flags include unclear fees, vague screening standards, pressure to sign quickly, promises of guaranteed medical clearance or pregnancy, weak insurance review, unclear rematch terms, and agency controlled journey funds. Ask whether funds are held by an independent third party escrow provider.

Surrogacy contracts can be legally enforceable, but enforceability depends on the state, the facts of the arrangement, and required legal procedures. EDSI coordinates an attorney guided legal process, while each party's independent reproductive attorney provides state specific legal advice.

Surrogacy law varies by state. Rules can differ on compensated gestational surrogacy, eligibility, contract requirements, legal parentage, court procedures, and parentage orders, so state specific advice should come from independent reproductive attorneys.

A gestational surrogacy agreement should address the surrogate's medical decision authority, compensation and reimbursements, insurance, travel, communication expectations, embryo transfer terms, pregnancy responsibilities, confidentiality, parentage procedures, and unexpected events. Each party should have separate independent legal counsel.

Legal parentage is established through the process required by the state connected to the arrangement and birth. Depending on jurisdiction, attorneys may use pre birth orders, post birth procedures, or other court and administrative steps.

Yes. International intended parents can pursue U.S. surrogacy, but the journey requires planning across fertility treatment, surrogate matching, U.S. legal procedures, travel, newborn documentation, insurance, and home country requirements. EDSI supports international families and coordinates the U.S. journey with independent professionals.

Yes. Egg Donor & Surrogacy Institute supports LGBTQIA+ intended parents, same sex couples, single intended parents, and families using donor eggs or donor sperm. The medical and legal path depends on family structure, genetic plan, state, clinic, and other circumstances.

For many gay dads, gestational surrogacy involves choosing an egg donor, creating embryos through IVF, matching with a gestational surrogate, completing medical and legal screening, and transferring an embryo to the surrogate. EDSI coordinates the donor and surrogacy journey with independent professionals.

HIV positive intended fathers may be able to pursue biological parenthood through IVF and gestational surrogacy with appropriate fertility clinic and infectious disease guidance. The medical team determines protocol, testing, and safety clearance for each case.

Before choosing an egg donor, intended parents can review profile information such as photos, ethnicity, physical characteristics, education, interests, compensation, and other nonidentifying details. Registered EDSI intended parents can access fuller information such as medical history, family background, and genetic screening details when available.

Yes. EDSI requires private registration for access to complete egg donor profiles because those profiles contain confidential personal and medical information. Public visitors can see limited donor information, while registered intended parents can review fuller profile details.

Egg donor escrow is used to hold and release cycle related funds according to applicable agreements and approved expenses rather than mixing those funds with an agency's general operating money. EDSI favors independent financial safeguards and clear documentation.

Becoming a surrogate usually starts with an application and preliminary eligibility review, followed by pregnancy record review, matching, psychological evaluation, background checks, insurance review, fertility clinic medical evaluation, legal agreements, embryo transfer, pregnancy, and delivery. EDSI coordinates the process while independent professionals handle their respective decisions.

After you apply, EDSI reviews basic eligibility and asks for information needed to evaluate pregnancy history, health, lifestyle, insurance, support, and readiness. If the preliminary review looks appropriate, next steps may include records collection, profile preparation, matching, and later independent reviews.

Matching time depends on intended parent availability, location, communication preferences, embryo plans, legal considerations, and mutual compatibility. A match should not be based on speed alone, and both parties should have the opportunity to review and agree before moving forward.

Surrogate pay varies by experience, location, and program. EDSI's current packages start at $70,000 base compensation for first time California surrogates and $60,000 for first time surrogates in other participating states, with bonuses, allowances, and approved reimbursements in addition to base compensation.

Surrogate compensation, allowances, and approved reimbursements are paid according to the signed gestational carrier agreement and payment schedule. EDSI coordinates the financial process through an independent third party bonded escrow provider rather than holding journey funds itself.

To become a surrogate with EDSI, applicants must meet core health, pregnancy history, lifestyle, residency, BMI, and support requirements, including having previously delivered a child. EDSI reviews eligibility before matching, while the intended parents' fertility clinic makes the final medical clearance decision.

Surrogate disqualifications can involve pregnancy or delivery history, certain medical conditions or medications, smoking or drug use, BMI or age limits, unstable health or support circumstances, or fertility clinic requirements. Not every history item is an automatic disqualification.

Yes. EDSI requires surrogate candidates to have previously carried a pregnancy to term and to be raising or have raised a child. Pregnancy history is still reviewed individually, and the fertility clinic makes the final medical clearance decision.

EDSI's current surrogate program guideline is a BMI of 32 or below. BMI is only one part of eligibility, and meeting the agency guideline does not guarantee medical clearance because the intended parents' fertility clinic performs its own evaluation.

Having Medicaid does not automatically prevent someone from applying to become a surrogate with EDSI, but Medicaid generally cannot be relied on as primary coverage for a surrogate pregnancy. Insurance and benefit eligibility need individual review before treatment.

Anxiety, depression, or medication use cannot be approved or disqualified automatically in a short FAQ. EDSI reviews health history, medications, stability, pregnancy history, and support individually, and applicants should not stop or change prescribed medication without speaking with their treating clinician.

A prior C section does not automatically determine whether someone can become a surrogate. EDSI reviews the circumstances of prior deliveries, records, recovery, complications, and current health before matching, and the fertility clinic makes the final medical clearance decision.

A history of preeclampsia requires individual review and is not appropriate for a simple yes or no answer. EDSI reviews timing, severity, recurrence, delivery history, available records, and current health, while the fertility clinic makes the final medical clearance decision.

The intended parents' fertility clinic makes the final medical clearance decision for a surrogate. EDSI performs a preliminary agency review before matching and coordinates records, communication, and scheduling, but that review is not medical clearance.

A surrogate's health insurance should be reviewed before treatment to determine whether the policy allows a surrogate pregnancy, what exclusions or network limits apply, and whether additional maternity coverage may be needed. EDSI coordinates this review with qualified insurance professionals.

Before matching, a surrogate should ask about communication style, desired relationship during and after pregnancy, appointment involvement, travel, birth expectations, difficult medical decisions, and how unexpected events would be handled. The goal is to identify whether expectations and communication styles are compatible.

Yes. A surrogate should have her own independent reproductive attorney for the gestational carrier agreement, separate from the attorney representing the intended parents. EDSI coordinates the attorney guided process but does not provide legal advice.

Legal protections depend on state law and the signed agreement, but important safeguards generally include separate legal representation, a written gestational carrier agreement, clearly defined compensation and expenses, insurance planning, and an established parentage process.

Whether you can become a surrogate in your state depends on state law, agency and clinic requirements, and individual eligibility. EDSI can help determine the appropriate coordination step, while state specific legal advice comes from independent reproductive counsel.

Postpartum support should continue after delivery. EDSI remains involved in coordination after birth and helps address agreed reimbursements, communication, recovery related logistics, and remaining journey items, while medical postpartum care comes from the surrogate's healthcare team.

Egg donor eligibility usually considers age, health history, family medical history, lifestyle, reproductive history, and the ability to complete clinic screening and the donation schedule. EDSI reviews donor candidates and coordinates the process, while the fertility clinic makes medical decisions for the cycle.

Egg donor matching time varies because intended parents select donors based on personal preferences, medical information, availability, and clinic requirements. Some donors may be selected quickly, while others may wait weeks or months.

The egg donation process typically includes an application, preliminary review, matching or selection, fertility clinic screening, legal and cycle coordination, injectable medications, monitoring appointments, and egg retrieval. The exact medical protocol is set by the fertility clinic.

Egg donor screening typically includes review of health and family history followed by fertility clinic screening for the specific cycle. Clinics may require laboratory testing, genetic screening, reproductive evaluation, infectious disease testing, and other assessments based on their protocol.

During egg donation, the fertility clinic uses medications to stimulate several follicles and monitors the donor. When the eggs are ready, they are retrieved from the ovaries during a short outpatient procedure, usually with sedation or anesthesia.

Egg donors typically use injectable fertility medications for a limited period to stimulate the ovaries so multiple eggs can mature. The fertility clinic chooses medications, doses, monitoring schedule, and trigger based on the donor's response.

Egg donation is a medical process, so questions about future fertility should be discussed with the fertility physician who evaluates the donor and explains known risks and the clinic's protocol. A short website answer cannot determine an individual donor's risk.

Qualified egg donors should not be expected to pay the medical, legal, or approved travel costs associated with the donation cycle. Under EDSI's current donor program, intended parents cover these approved costs in addition to donor compensation.

EDSI's current egg donor compensation starts at $10,000 for a first completed donation cycle, with repeat donors starting at $12,000 or more. Compensation is separate from approved medical, travel, and legal expenses, which are covered for the donor.