Choosing a Fertility Clinic for Surrogacy

When choosing a fertility clinic for surrogacy arrangements, or even for fertility services for treatment for IVF and other procedures, there are a number of factors Intended Parents should consider when making their decision. The choices and issues may seem overwhelming at first but a full service surrogacy agency will help Intended Parents navigate these waters and make the best decision.

The major factors include the following:

• Success Rates
• Financial Assistance Programs
• Guarantee and Multiple Package Programs
• Egg Donor Options Offered by the Clinic or Practice
• Personal Preferences Regarding the Type and Size of Clinic or Practice

Types of Clinics

Internet Health Resources (IHR) breaks down clinics into six different types:

• Sole practitioners
• Small practices with 2–8 member physicians
• Large, full-service practices
• Fertility networks
• University-based clinics
• Hospital-based clinics

The large practices, university-based and hospital-based clinics may have full resources and laboratories in-house; however, the experience may be more impersonal than sole practitioners and small practices provide.

Success Rates

Federal law mandates that all fertility clinics must present their success rate statistics to the Center for Disease Control. The CDC website contains a plethora of information and statistics from the 440 clinics in the United States providing Assisted Reproductive Technology medical services.

Financial Assistance Programs

There are a variety of loan programs available through fertility clinic networks and direct loan programs through financial institutions.

Guarantee and Multiple Package Programs

The costs involved in surrogacy are high and for some Intended Parents guarantee programs or multiple package programs, which typically offer refunds if the IVF/FET process does not result in a live birth, provide some predictability to overall cost and financial risk.

Egg Donor Options Offered By the Fertility Clinic

For Intended Parents in need of egg donation, consideration of the clinic and physician's position on "fresh" versus "frozen" cycles, and whether the clinic has in-house egg donation programs can be an important decision-making factor.

A fresh cycle is accomplished by synchronizing the menstrual cycles of the egg donor and the surrogate carrier. In the case of a frozen embryo transfer, the fertilized eggs or embryos have been cryopreserved or frozen from a previous cycle rather than immediately transferred to a surrogate carrier.

Options include:

• In-house egg donor program offered by the clinic
• Outside egg donor agency
• Frozen egg bank program
• Parent identified egg donor
• Embryo donation

The Personal Experience – One Size Does Not Fit All

Deciding which clinic or practice to choose is not always a simple process and will involve complex and sometimes competing interests. A full service agency can guide Intended Parents through the maze of issues and help greatly in the decision making process.

Each practice, clinic and doctor have different styles and organizational structures. What works for one person may not work for another. The best way of gauging whether a particular practice or clinic is the best fit for you is to set up a consultation either in person or via phone or Skype.