
Cost and Financing for Intended Parents
Creative Family Connections is committed to making your journey to having a child via surrogacy as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. While the total cost of surrogacy varies based on the individual and situation, your case manager will help you plan for your family’s future and ensure you understand any potential charges.
How much does surrogacy cost?
The average cost of a surrogacy pregnancy in the U.S. can range anywhere from $125,000 and upwards, depending whether the parents already have created embryos. For all intended parents wondering how expensive gestational surrogacy is, it’s important to keep in mind that the cost of gestational surrogacy depends on many factors, including creating the embryos (medical IVF expenses, donor fees and expenses, if applicable, professional fees, and pharmaceutical expenses), surrogacy journey costs (surrogacy program costs, gestational surrogate fees, lawyer and other and professional’s fees, IVF medical fees to screen the gestational surrogate, cycle and then transfer the embryo to the gestational surrogate, out-of-pocket medical expenses, insurance expenses, and newborn costs.
Creating an embryo can add $30,000-$50,000 overall and using an egg donor will add another $20,000-30,000. While some intended parents’ insurance may cover IVF fees, most will not, particularly fees and costs related to the surrogate. There is no doubt that a surrogacy journey is expensive, therefore, and a gestational surrogate expects to receive her base amount and not go “into the hole” for any of her expenses. Most Creative Family Connections gestational surrogates receive a base compensation of $46,000. Some receive $42,000. These amounts can be adjusted upward for experience or for carrying twins, and downward for lack of surrogacy-friendly insurance.
How much does a surrogacy procedure cost?
While it can be hard to estimate total expenses, in order to make a gestational surrogate match that is respectful of your budget, we will ask you the following questions in your New Client Questionnaire. (Note that your answers remain strictly confidential. While some agencies share your answers with your GC candidate, we will never share your completed questionnaire with your GC.)
Do you want to wait for us to find a GC candidate who has health insurance that is surrogacy-friendly or are you willing to purchase a policy that covers surrogacy? (Note that if your GC has unusable insurance, we will reduce the GC’s base compensation by $5,000 to assist you in purchasing a policy. Also, even if a GC candidate’s policy is surrogacy-friendly today, there is no guarantee that it will stay that way. For example, all policies are reviewed at the end of every year; sometimes, we learn that an employer has switched carriers and the new policy is no longer surrogacy-friendly. Also, note that some policies have large annual deductibles, so if the pregnancy spans two calendar years, it can get pricey for you. Some of the policies you can purchase have no deductibles and no co-pays, so the out-of-pocket difference is not quite as large as they first appear.)
Are you open to all GC candidates or should we be looking only for GC candidates who are stay-at-home moms, who have modest incomes, or who have short-term disability policies? We do not want you to lie awake for 9 months worrying what will happen if a doctor puts her on bed rest. If she is put on doctor-ordered-best rest, you want her to stay in bed – and you are responsible for lost wages.
If you are an international client, we need to think in advance about how your newborn will be covered. So, we will ask: Do you have a private insurance policy, or an insurance policy through your company, that covers you while you are traveling in the US? This is the easiest way to expand to a policy that will also cover your newborn.
Are you at the top of your budget? If yes, we will be careful in matching you so that we select a GC candidate who has minimal travel costs to the IVF clinic, who has health insurance, and whose lost wages are minimal. This can add to your wait for a match, but it is important toward reducing your stress. Also, if you are budget conscious, then going for twins is actually not the best way to save money, because the risk of complications (which adds to your cost) increases — both during the pregnancy and upon delivery, which could be pre-term.
Financial assistance
Many intended parents are relieved that there are several options available to them to create a more affordable surrogacy.
Although there are no tax credits for becoming parents through surrogacy, there are many other ways to receive financial help.
1. CREATIVE FAMILY CONNECTIONS DISCOUNTS
- Returning CFC clients using the same GC: ~55% off CFC fees! (Yes, that is not a typo! You pay 45% of CFC fees!)
- Returning CFC clients needing a new GC: 20% off CFC fees
- Active military: 10% off CFC fees
- Public school teachers: 10% off CFC fees
- Gay men qualifying under Men Having Babies’ GPAP 1 program: 15% off CFC fees (8 per year)
- Gay men qualifying under Men Having Babies’ GPAP 2 program: 100% pro bono journey (1 per year)
- $1500 discount for 1st journeys for MHB members
(More are on the way for other intended parents!)
**Only one discount applies**
2. LOANS
Many lenders specialize in providing loans to couples looking for gestational surrogacy financing, but surrogacy loan rates can vary. Consider:
- Borrowing from 401(k) plans – You pay interest to yourself!
- Applying for a home equity loan or line of credit.
- Using credit cards (but be careful; interest rates are wickedly high).
Some companies to contact for fertility-specific financing loans are:
(Note: These are NOT CFC affiliated companies and we cannot vouch for them.)
- CapexMD.
- Prosper Healthcare Lending.
- New Life Fertility Finance. –Note that New Life offers a loan from SunTrust Bank that some of our clients have obtained directly from the bank: It is the Lightstream loan, also called the “Anything loan” (www.lightstream.com)
3. FUNDRAISING
Community fundraising events are an excellent way for intended parents to fund their surrogacy journeys. Some fundraising options include:
- Online crowdfunding. Use sites such as Kickstarter to share your surrogacy journey and find out how friends and strangers can easily donate.
- Turning a hobby into a business. Sell your services or homemade goods on sites such as Etsy and put your profits toward financing your surrogacy journey.
- Community events. You can recruit community members to help you raise money and accept donations for your surrogacy process. Silent auctions and garage sales are common ways intended parents receive financial help for surrogacy.
4. GRANTS
As an intended parent, you may earn free funds for your surrogacy through surrogate and fertility grant programs. Each of the following programs has different application requirements, so it’s essential to fully research each option to determine which is best. (Note: These are NOT CFC grants and we cannot vouch for them.)
Contact Creative Family Connections for surrogacy financial information
Since 2001, Creative Family Connections has been helping intended parents make their dream of starting a family or expanding their family a reality. As both a surrogacy agency and law firm, we have the knowledge and expertise to refer you to the best financial resources to meet your needs. The guidance you receive can help you save money throughout the surrogacy journey.
Contact CFC today to get started, learn more about surrogacy payments, and the average cost of a surrogacy journey at our agency.
Contact CFC today to get started, learn more about surrogacy payments, and the average cost of a surrogacy journey at our agency.