Surrogacy can be simply defined as the process of giving birth to a child after completing the whole gestational period successfully for an infertile couple.
This process gradually gets public as well as legal acceptance in some countries as it assists in build-up a family for an infertile couple.
Surrogacy is an alternative option for natural conception and pregnancy and intended parents take assistance from surrogate mothers for carrying the implanted embryo and to complete the term.
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The surrogacy law differs from one country to another and even it can vary state-wise, so before opting the surrogacy, intended parents and surrogate mothers should aware of the laws and regulations.
There are two surrogacy methods are available.
Traditional Surrogacy
In this process, the surrogate mother’s egg is used for fertilization.
Clinically, the eggs are collected from the surrogate mother and then artificially fertilized in a Petri-dish, and then the embryo is implanted in the surrogate mother’s womb.
Then surrogate mother completes the gestational period with a routine visit to obstetrics clinics and after completion of the term gives birth to a child for the infertile couple, who will be the legal parents of the newborn child.
If the egg of the intended mother is of poor quality for fertilization, but the mother can carry the fetus and the ability to deliver a child, then the surrogate requires egg donation.
The donor egg is artificially fertilized and then implant in the intended mother’s womb to pursue the gestational term.
This surrogacy process is termed partial surrogacy.
In both of these methods, the intended mother does not have a biological relationship with the newborn, as they do not have a similar genetic sequence.
However, the father has a genetic relationship with the newborn.
Gestational Surrogacy
In this case, the intended mother’s egg is used for artificial fertilization.
A surrogate mother is the only carrier of the fetus and after completing the gestation period delivers the child for the intended parents.
In this case, the female partner of the intended mother unable to carry the child and to complete the term due to her impaired reproductive organ does not support to do so.
In gestational surrogacy, the intended parents and newborn child have a genetic relationship.
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Surrogacy is now a widely accepted process due to the advancement in reproductive technology.
Surrogacy becomes a blessing for infertile couples, same-sex couples, and single individuals, who have the scope to build a family by opting for this advanced reproductive technology.
But yet now some countries like India do not legally support this as the scope of embezzlement.
Even the legislative actions in the United States are also very sluggish and the legal questionnaire varies from state to state.
Now you can choose between Gestational and Traditional Surrogacy: Which one is the best for you?
There are several professional surrogacy centers are developed in different countries, where surrogacy is a legal process to provide a hassle-free surrogacy service.
These professional surrogacy centers take responsibility to complete the whole process legally under the supervision of expert medical service providers and keep the values of both the parties (intended parents and surrogate mother) by maintaining confidentiality.
These service providers also help to increase awareness about surrogacy.
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Ravi Sharma is a self-motivated, successful entrepreneur and has a solid experience in the fertility segment. and he is the director at ARTbaby Global (ARThealthcare). He is a pharmacy graduate with post-graduation in business administration and has 14 years of rich experience in the field of infertility segment. He loves to write about IVF, Surrogacy, and other ART (assisted reproductive technology) news, issues, and updates. He is a Pharmacy graduate (B. Pharm) and M.B.A (marketing).
His most recent success includes the successful launch of the medical tourism company, ARTbaby, which offers treatment options for infertility, egg donation, and surrogacy. He likes spending time with his family and writing about various aspects of IVF surrogacy and donating eggs.