Surrogacy Process

Application

We will provide you with instructions to access our online application form after you have successfully completed our online initial screening form. Please complete the application carefully. Our administrative staff will carefully review your application. We will contact you to discuss our program and to verify your application information, and the couple will review it. The pictures you include are very important to the clients. Pictures should show you at your best.

Medical Insurance

IARC® requires a copy of your medical insurance policy and a copy (front and back) of your identification card. You will need to request a copy of the policy and mail it to IARC® for our review. If your insurance is not appropriate for a surrogate birth, we will make reasonable efforts to help you find and obtain different coverage.

Psychological Evaluation

A licensed psychologist must complete a psychological evaluation. This is a written/personal interview session and requires you to take an MMPI-2. IARC® will organize all appointments and travel arrangements for you, if necessary.

Telephone Interview

We will let you know when interest is shown in your application. The couple usually wants to interview you over the telephone, or they may wish to meet you in person. We will help you to anticipate some of the questions they may be asking you, and, of course, you can also ask questions of them. Remember that it is equally important you feel comfortable working with them.

Legal Documentation

Once you have been matched with a couple, you will need to sign legal documentation that outlines all payments and conditions of your treatment and pregnancy. IARC® will draft the original agreement with the couple, but you must take the agreement to your own attorney to be reviewed. The couple will pay a reasonable amount for your attorney to review the agreement.

Medical Testing

IARC® will contact you to provide you with a list of medical tests that must be completed before your treatment will start. These tests will be completed in your hometown, and the results must be faxed to IARC® so that we can deliver them to the medical clinic for the doctor's review. If you need assistance, IARC® will provide guidance.

Fertility Treatment

When the testing requirements are done, you will be ready to start your fertility treatment. You will receive specific instructions about your medications and how to take them. In a Full (AI) Surrogacy, the medications are often used to improve the quality of the eggs produced. In a Gestational (IVF) Surrogacy, the medications are used to help synchronize your menstrual cycle with the wife's or ovum (egg) donor's cycle and to help thicken your uterine lining to accept the transferred embryos. Some medications require small injections under the skin that most women give themselves. Some women have their husband or friends help them, or they go to a nearby doctor's office. Close to the time of ovulation, you will be required to travel to the fertility clinic somewhere in North America. IARC® will organize your travel needs.

If you are a Full (AI) Surrogate, you may be given a schedule of clinic visits for blood tests (to check your temperature and/or hormone levels). The doctor will inseminate you with the client's sperm. This procedure feels like a pap smear. You will be able to return home immediately.

If you are a Gestational (IVF) Surrogate, the wife/ovum (egg) donor will have already undergone the in vitro fertilization procedure. (Her eggs will have been retrieved and fertilized with the father's sperm.) A number (usually 2 or 3) of the resulting embryos will be transferred to your uterus. This is a relatively painless procedure, but you will have to adjust your activity level for approximately 48 hours afterward.

In both cases, two weeks after the insemination/implantation, a pregnancy test will be performed. If you are not pregnant, you will return in subsequent months for further inseminations/implantations. By that time, you will know the medical clinic and staff and feel very comfortable with the whole procedure.

Pregnancy and Delivery!

Once you become pregnant, an obstetrician will monitor you in your hometown. IARC®'s staff will contact you throughout your pregnancy. Your intended parent(s) will usually want to hear about every ultrasound and doctor's visit and, normally, attend the delivery. IARC® will help coordinate all legal requirements surrounding the birth. It is a very happy time for everyone; you have made an incredible impact on another family's future happiness!