# Views on surrogacy in USA



## MultiMum (Jul 13, 2008)

Can anyone tell me, very very roughtly, what the total cost of surrogacy in the US may be?

I am on lists to have IVF with donor eggs but it's not without risk as I've had several c sections before. So I may opt for surrogacy and I'm trying to make the decision very rapidly between surrogacy and IVF with donor eggs (I've been offered a donor).

Someone told me about Centre for Surrogate Parenting in the US but I simply can't get a handle on the total costs as the list of things goes on and on and on.....

Just wondered, really rough ballpark figures, is one talking 20k or 200k ! (the latter, naturally, would be too much!)


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## napy (Jun 17, 2011)

Hi MultiMum,  Center for Surrogate Parenting is one of the most expensive agencies in the US.  If you do a search on the internet, you can find others that have fees that are alot less. We used Surrogacy Options when we did surrogacy in the US.


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## Roobee (Mar 31, 2011)

Hi Multimum,

Surrogacy in the USA is very expensive, and there will be the cost of using a US egg donor (as you are unlikely to be able to take your UK? egg donor to the USA).

There will be surrogacy agency and egg donor agency costs to consider on top of the actual surrogacy costs.

You have to factor in the enormous cost of paying for a UK specialist surrogacy lawyer who will have to act on your behalf to apply for a parental order for your baby (through the high courts with barristers and high court judge involved). This is to make the foreign surrogacy legal under the UK laws ... unfortunately, I would say the cost of the legal work could easily exceed the actual cost of the actual surrogacy itself (silly as it may sound), but all the specialist lawyers are riding on the gravy train when it comes to international surrogacy ... it becomes an open cheque book! You will find that they will not even quote (never mind about commit to) a rough estimate of the fees no matter how straight forward the case maybe (i.e. using long-standing reputable US agencies, clinics and lawyers in surrogacy law friendly US states, and doing everything by the book and legally according to US laws). The UK legal costs are crippling and you have to be prepared for that if you decide to go down the US surrogacy route.

Also, you will have to get the help of an immigration specialist lawyer to help you bring you baby home safely and legally. This is at additional cost.

There are also healthcare costs for the surrogate and the newborn (i.e. when the baby needs NICU care), these costs could be enormous and could spiral out of control. Unfortunately the only insurance policy which will 'safeguard' you from the costs of the baby's NICU care (if needed) is very expensive.

You also have to factor in the costs of your trips and stays in the US whilst having treatment and whilst you sort out the immigration paperwork to allow you to bring your baby home.

I hate to say it but you are looking at eye-watering sums of money (in excess of £100k ... probably in the order of £150k to be realistic if there are no complications such as the baby needing the NICU) and a lot of bum-aching legal paperwork ... do consider things seriously before going down this route. Naturally, the biggest advantage of doing surrogacy in the US is that the baby legally belongs to the intended parents (under US law) when the pre-birth order is issued between 26-30 weeks pregnancy. Unlike the stupid UK laws that only allows parental order to be applied only from 6 weeks onwards, so before then the surrogate (and her husband) could change their mind(s) and keep the baby at any point ... which is very scary for the intended parents!

International surrogacy is not for the faint hearted and I would advise that you think seriously before going down that route. If you can tolerate the long wait for a UK surrogate to pick you and 'don't mind' the small risk of the surrogate keeping your baby ... have the DE treatment in the UK using a UK surrogate, or take a UK surrogate to the US to have an donor egg treatment. These alternative options will mean much lower surrogacy costs (i.e. no surrogate compensation involved), and will avoid the huge UK legal costs and US healthcare costs.

Good luck!
R x


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