If you’re lucky enough to have a friend or family member volunteer as a gestational carrier, you are one step closer to bringing a child into the world. But, you may not be sure of where to start. What kind of surrogacy professionals do you need if you’ve already identified your surrogacy partner?
The fact is, even though you have already found a surrogate, you still need professional guidance to safely and ethically complete a surrogacy within the family or among friends. Surrogacy can be complicated no matter how you get there but, fortunately, Central PA Surrogacy is here to guide you.
If you’re considering using a family member or using a friend as a surrogate in Pennsylvania, please give us a call. Our full-service agency can provide all the services you need to safely move forward, while simultaneously protecting your rights and the rights of your surrogate, too. We can create the surrogacy plan that works for your and your surrogate’s needs.
Contact us online or at 814-237-7900 today to learn more. In the meantime, keep reading for what we want you to know about having a friend or family member surrogate for this journey.
Can I Use Friends or Family Members as a Surrogate?
Many intended parents wonder: Can a family member be a surrogate mother? What about a friend?
You’ll be glad to know that many intended parents are able to complete a friend or family member surrogacy. However, this can only be done when a loved one is actually eligible to be a surrogate.
Just as surrogacy is not right for every intended parent, it’s not the right path for every prospective surrogate, either. A woman must meet certain requirements to safely carry a baby for intended parents. Even if she and the intended parents are in agreement and ready to pursue surrogacy, it cannot be done if she doesn’t meet the basic requirements, including:
- Having had a successful previous pregnancy
- Be raising a child of her own
- Having a BMI between 19 and 33
- Being between the ages of 21 and 45
- Having no ongoing mental health issues or use of antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication
- Passing a medical and psychological screening
No matter how much your sister, mom, cousin or friend wants to carry for you, if she does not meet these basic requirements, she will be turned away from surrogacy professionals that you’ll need to work with during this journey.
The good news? If the loved one who volunteered to be your surrogate doesn’t meet these requirements, you can also work with our Pennsylvania program to find a surrogate candidate who does.
How Surrogacy With a Friend or Family Member Works
When you approach Central PA Surrogacy having already identified a gestational carrier, you will be ahead of the game. Our professionals will be able to step in and guide you through the next steps, saving you the time typically associated with the matching process.
If your surrogate has not already been screened by your fertility clinic, this will be the first step after contacting our program. We must confirm that your loved one meets the requirements to be a surrogate and that your clinic sees no issue with pursuing this partnership.
Once she is confirmed as your surrogate, we will help you create a surrogacy plan. This will detail all of your expectations and goals in the upcoming journey, ensuring you and your surrogate are on the same page. We will also connect you with trusted attorneys at local law firm Bierly & Rabuck, who will create your surrogacy contract. Yes — even if you’re pursuing a Pennsylvania surrogacy with a friend or family member, you still have to finalize your partnership with a legal contract.
From here, the rest of your family-building journey will proceed like any other intended parent’s. And, if you work with Central PA Surrogacy, you’ll receive just as much hands-on, personalized care and support as anyone else who works with our program from the very beginning.
What is the Surrogacy Cost With a Friend or Family Member?
Now, to the big question: How much does surrogacy cost if you use a friend or family member?
Here at Central PA Surrogacy, we understand that many intended parents are on a strict cost schedule when it comes to surrogacy. After all, it’s an expensive journey. The good news is that our program’s cost of surrogacy with a friend or family member is significantly reduced from our full-service costs.
When you come to us with an identified surrogate, we will not charge you for the marketing or advertising we offer to intended parents who need a surrogate. Instead, we will only charge you for the services you need. We’ll work with you to create a surrogacy plan for your family-building journey, and we will determine our pricing schedule based on that.
The surrogacy cost using a family member or friend can be very attractive, but we encourage intended parents to be sure they’re following this path for the right reasons. Surrogacy is an emotional, complicated journey; if you pursue it with a loved one, your relationship will change forever. Talk the decision over with your family member or friend in detail to ensure you are both comfortable. If you ever have questions about the surrogacy process in Pennsylvania, you can always contact our professionals online anytime.
Whether you are still considering using a family member or using a friend as a surrogate in Pennsylvania or you’re ready to get started, Central PA Surrogacy can help. Give us a call at 814-237-7900 to learn more.
