Why is surrogacy so expensive?

Hia.
We’re looking into surrogacy as an option for our family as we have had 4 miscarriages in the last 3 years. But we running into a wall with the sheer cost of surrogacy. Why is it so expensive? Are there any alternatives to paying all these fees?

Reply by Rayven:
Surrogacy is so expensive because of all the “middle men” and the various parts that make up surrogacy. Each entity wants their piece of pie.

For a typical gestational surrogacy, you have the following expenses:

–Surrogate’s fee
–Clinic fees (both egg retrieval and embryo transfer)
–Medications
–Lawyer
–Surrogate’s lawyer
–Agency
–Escrow
–(possibly) egg donor fees
–(possibly) health insurance for surrogate
–Multiple miscellaneous pregnancy related expenses

The costs add up, fast. How do you trim those costs?

1. Find a surrogate on your own…no agency fees.
2. Find a surrogate with health insurance….no health insurance fees.
3. Find a surrogate with low fees…yes, they do exist!
4. Consider doing traditional surrogacy if you need an egg donor or if the costs are just too much for gestational surrogacy.

Fees involved in traditional surrogacy, matched independently:
-Surrogate’s fee ($15,000-25,000 on average)
-Lawyers’ fees (varies)
-Clinic/Meds (if you do home inseminations, this can be quite low)
-Miscellaneous pregnancy related expenses (if the surrogate has health insurance, these can be low as well)

For gestational surrogacy, you have to add in quite a bit for the clinic fees and medications, which can add tens of thousands to your total. And keep in mind, that if you have a failed transfer, you will have to do this part all over again.

Add in the cost of an agency…..

Surrogacy is not cheap. But, I will say that as the popularity grows, so will more affordable options. Not inexpensive options, but more competitive.

Posted in Ask a Surrogate.