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Cost of Gestational Carrier
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Anonymous
| Just wanted to get a ballpark figure before I bring this up to my RE. I have a T-shaped uterus and had one miscarriage of a PGS normal. Not sure I want to waste any more time with my uterus. I am bracing myself for a high cost - anyone have an idea? and how much is fees vs the amount that goes to the actual GC? |
Anonymous
| Also was thinking my cousin would probably be interested in doing this for me - how much does that really shave off? I would still want to pay her market rate of what GCs get |
Anonymous
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Our GC is about 8 weeks right now and adding it up, we are probably going to have spent around $100K when all's said and done. That's right in line with I heard when I started looking into it about a year ago, so I think that figure does seem about right.
Some factors that could lower your costs, though, would be if you have fertility insurance (we don't and all our IVF costs to get the embryos in the first place are entirely OOP, including meds, and I've also been on really high doses of stims in my recent cycles so that has increased costs for us in this area beyond what some others pay); and/or you have a family member or friend that can carry for you for a low or no cost. Anyway as a high-level overview I'd say medical costs ran us around $40K, including - all the IVF stuff from egg retrieval through implantation - all the medical testing for everyone (and just be aware in a GC situation there's some additional testing required by the FDA since your embryo will become essentially donated tissue, so that adds a few extra grand above the usual IVF costs) - required psychological counseling for all parties - disability and life insurance policies for the GC As far as costs paid to the GC, that's probably going to end up around another $40K in our case. That includes not only the fees we pay her directly as our surrogate, but compensation for things like maternity clothes, daycare for her own child (reputable agencies will require any GC candidate to have already successfully had at least one child of their own), missed work for appointments, etc. And the legal costs have been about $20K. That includes our lawyer (who also handled matching us with our GC), the GC's lawyer, and payments to the broker who handles the escrow account from which payments to the GC are made. I also had uterine problems preventing implantation and lost a PGS normal embryo as well as had several canceled cycles, and while I cringe at what we're spending,at the same time when we finally made the decision to go the GC route I felt a huge sense of relief and gratitude that we could. I don't make very many good eggs and the thought of losing them and going through ER after ER in hopes of finding more, and then perhaps enduring a succession of failed FETs or miscarriages, was becoming an increasingly awful prospect. It seemed so daunting at the outset but our lawyer, who was referred to us, has been a gem and she very quickly found us an amazing treasure of a GC. As it turned out, the hardest part really was making the decision and that first call. Well, and the cost, but we can't take it with us anyway, right? Good luck with your decision, and I really hope you are successful either on your own or with a GC! |
Anonymous
| Wow - thank you so much for your detailed reply. This is an eye popping amount of money but so worth it if you take home a baby. Glad to hear that things are going well for you. One additional question - did you work with shady grove to get started? |
Anonymous
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The above poster hit the nail on the head. I'd say that $100,000 is a conservative estimate. It can be up to $150,000. You can save some money by matching independently instead of using an agency, but that can be risky. Also, make sure the GC has really good health insurance with no Surrogacy exclusions otherwise you may end up with more pregnancy and childbirth related costs.
Also, you can save yourself some legal fees by delivering in a pre-birth order state like Maryland instead of Virginia. This will save you attorney's fees after the delivery. The going rate for GCs in this area are $30,000-50,000 although one local agency quoted me $60,000 for an experienced GC. If she is a high earner, you'll pay more in lost wages for missed work. |
Anonymous
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We spent $125-140K total (depending on if you count some of the ancillary cost) -- twins via a GC
We had the added expense of one failed IVF, one GC having to pull out (before transfer - so had to re-screen and a couple other sunk costs), cost of bed-rest (added child care lost wages etc) for GC toward the end pregnancy with twins, twin fee, etc. and we used one of the higher price agencies. You have to be ready for some unexpected issues and costs to come up within the range of possibilities. Obviously outcome is priceless. But it it not cheap. |
Anonymous
| This is not something I would do with a family member unless you do it the way you would with someone you found through an agency. |
Anonymous
We have been with Shady Grove since we started IVF, and yep, kept with them when we realized we needed to move to using a GC. While we handled the whole matching process separately, once we identified our GC I was transferred into their surrogacy program and assigned a coordinator who has worked with both us and our GC, keeping her informed about everything she needed to do to get taken on as a patient and then working with all three of us throughout the process. I think they've done a fine job (and haven't heard any concerns from our GC either). |
Anonymous
| Has anyone opted to use a GC even if it wasn't 100% necessary, but to avoid a potential medical complication that might leave you in severe pain during pregnancy with no good treatment options? No way 2 know ahead of time.... |
Anonymous
Most RE's won't let you use a GC unless it is medically necessary. Obviously there seem to be some cases of celebrities and very wealthy people where they may be able to pay to do it anyway ... but we had to get medical statements basically saying I would likely die and never carry a live baby to term due to underlying medical condition (and this was after having a stillbirth and I did have to go through serious heroic actions to save my life). Nearly everyone else I know who has gone this through has some serious underlying illness or had been through cancer treatment or has some inability to physically be able to carry a baby. |
Anonymous
| Thanks PP. anyone else have experience with this? How many miscarriages or years of trying or medical condition before you moved on to try with a GC? |
Anonymous
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We used a Gc. . Had frozen pgs tested embryos before starting which helped kee cost down.
Agency fee was 25k, surrogates fee was 25k for pregnancy plus other expenses that added up to about 3k, , FET was 4600, I know ther were other fees we paid at shady grove but I can't remember the cost. I had 2 misscariges plus 4 failed transfers then RE suggested trying a GC. Worked on the first try |
Anonymous
My lining would not thicken at all due to previous cancer treatment so they recommended a surrogate. Did two unsuccessful transfers and a third round of meds that never lead to a transfer. Have been matched with a surrogate. |
Anonymous
| I know a gay couple in NYC who used a GC twice for their two children. It cost about $100k each time. |
Anonymous
| We used a GC and the total costs were about $100k. |