Surrogacy

[Raphael]

My husband and I desperately want a child together, unfortunately I have had a hysterectomy due to cervical cancer, I still have my ovaries so I am looking for a gestational surrogate to carry our child. I have no idea where to start or how much it costs. I live in NSW and really need some help to make our dream become reality.

Thank you

[bfkel]

Raphael, you have taken your first steps - you've started the research. It's a long roller coaster but it could take you where you want to go.

Speak with a fertilty clinic. Do they have a surrogacy program? Will they start the embryo creation without a surrogate in mind? speak with many clinics - find out their procedures. do they have the counsellors that are becoming mandatory, or do they want you to seek out independant advce? the same with lawyers. do you have to present to an ethics review board before you can proceed with the medicals?

Start asking yourself what you want from this journey? How much control are you willing to let go and how much will you not? For instance, do you want your surro to be within a certain age / weight / exercise range? How much interaction do you want during the pg, afterwards? How many cycles do you want to try? How many embryos will you implant?
The questions are not important but being on the same page as your surro is.You could be comfortable with transferring 10 embies but as long as your surro is too then it's just fine.
(yes I was being extreme there but you get my drift)

Your research should be the legal side for your state, the medical side for your clinic and the emotional side for both you and your family and the surro side. The forums are good for these because there will often be a subject crop up that you've never thought of. (My IM didn't want me to eat garlic during pg - I thought it was strange but hey, it was her baby).

Read lots of forums - there's a few here in Aust, and although the ones from overseas often have stuff that has no relevance to us (like the US mediacl insurance stuff) it does open your eyes to things that go right and wrong because of mis communication. My saying now is 'if you can't talk about the fear of haemorhoids with your IM, what else are you not discussing?'

[Renatee]

[QUOTE=Raphael;6381778]My husband and I desperately want a child together, unfortunately I have had a hysterectomy due to cervical cancer, I still have my ovaries so I am looking for a gestational surrogate to carry our child. I have no idea where to start or how much it costs. I live in NSW and really need some help to make our dream become reality.
Hi, hun, I'm so sorry!! You've suffered much..There's plenty of info concerning surrogacy – how to get started.The process starts with theinitial consultation. Itis to be scheduled at least 1 week ahead and contains the followingactivities. A set of tests depending on the program. Consultationwith a fertility specialist who will be in charge of your program (incase of stimulation you will need to have the transvaginal ultrasoundcheck done). Consultation with a manager who will guide you throughthe program step by step. Signing of contracts. First payment andalso youwill receive the guidelines-failureto follow these recommendations may affect the initial consultationin a negative way. Anotherstep search and confirmation of a surrogate mother, matching process(waiting time also depends on type of contract). Afteryou sign contracts and make the first payment, the medical teamstarts the selection process that includes:
Initial pre-selection by the local coordinator. Consultation of the fertility specialist. Consultation of a psychologist. Legal consultation and verification of documents. Screening for possible addictions (urine and blood tests). Thischeck-up process, including all necessary tests and exams, takesabout 1 month.
Thenstimulation and synchronisation stage (usually about 2 weeks).Thecycle of egg donor or the biological mother is synchronised with thecycle of a surrogate mother. In case of self-treatment or violationof the treatment protocol, the clinic may cancel the cycle andterminate the contract.
Fertilisationand embryo transfer.Thisis when donor’s/biological mother’s eggs are retrieved andfertilised by the sperm of a biological father. After fertilisationthe embryo development is monitored by our embryology unit. You aretoreceive the protocol of embryo cultivation and transfer within 3working days after the embryo transfer. ThenHCG test and pregnancy confirmation.TheHCG test takes place 2 weeks after the embryo transfer. The surrogatemother has her test in aclinic.The first ultrasound scan is carried out in 2 weeks after thepositive HCG test by the doctor. The report will be send the same orthe next day after the check. Pregnancymonitoring.Whatyou can expect during this time: Monthly ultrasound checks from the 12th week of pregnancy. Reports along with video and/or pictures will be send the same or the next day. For trisomy screenings, results will be send within 5 working days. Trisomy 13, 18, 21 – on the 12th week of pregnancy. Trisomy 18, 21 – on the 16th week of pregnancy. Delivery of the baby and obtaining of the birth certificate for the baby (up to 1 week). Hope this helps to get some insight. Good luck!