Surrogacy 101
Both you and your partner (if applicable) may choose to be genetic-intended fathers – that means that you will contribute genetic material to your future child. In addition to the two of you, you will also need the help of an egg donor and a gestational carrier, as well as a whole team of experienced professionals to make sure you and your future child are protected.
Finding an egg donor can be a challenging choice, as your donor will be contributing 50% of your future child’s genes! Your team here at RMA of Connecticut will help you choose your egg donor from either our in house donor pool, an agency, or an egg bank. Egg donors are screened for reproductive health, genetic conditions and diseases, and psychological health and infectious disease.
When it comes to your surrogate (also known as a gestational carrier), this person will have no genetic link to the baby that they carry. Still, they will need to be screened for reproductive health, infectious diseases, and complete a set of mental health testing and background checks. You will build a relationship with this person for nine months – and probably longer—so we want it to have a solid foundation. The team at Gay Parents To Be and RMA of Connecticut will help guide you to select a surrogacy agency, who will facilitate that testing and your surrogate match.
Once you are matched with a donor, the eggs have been successfully retrieved and an embryo has been grown in the lab, it will then be transferred into the carrier’s uterus. Learn more about this process here.
Pregnancy can be detected 11 to 12 days after transfer, and then you and your surrogate will continue to bond up to – and after – your baby is born
