How Much Does Surrogacy Cost- Explained With Breakdown of Cost!

Surrogacy, in any case, is an expensive affair. Surrogacy cost depends on two factors – the place where the procedure of surrogacy is performed and the second is the cost of the medical care of the place where the surrogacy is carried out.

The surrogacy cost with the IVF procedure differs from place to place. For example, on average surrogacy cost in the USA can go up to $150,000, in Ukraine, it is $50,000, in Colombia it costs $64,0000, in the UK it costs $85000, in Canada, it is $80000, in Kenya it is $45000 and in India, it costs $35,000.

The surrogacy cost includes everything ranging from agency fees, surrogate search, legal cost, clinical costs, prenatal care, immigration help, and delivery. It also includes the surrogate’s pay.

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Breakdown of surrogacy cost

How does surrogacy work?

How much is surrogate mother pay?

The surrogate’s pay varies from country to country. In some countries, it is also not allowed to pay anything out of the pocket to the surrogate. In the USA the surrogate’s pay will cost you around $60,000. While it is $16000, $15000 and $13000 for Ukraine, Columbia, and Georgia respectively.

The administration fees for the surrogate and the donor will make a little part of your overall surrogacy payment. The fee is paid to the surrogacy agency once the intended parents are ready to choose the egg donor or the surrogate.

This payment covers the cost of initially preparing the surrogate. Although the surrogate’s agency typically has a large pool of the surrogates, they will not start with any of the procedures until the surrogate or the egg donor is matched with the parents.

How to pay the surrogate's compensation

In the USA the local laws maintain that the surrogate compensation must be paid upfront into an escrow amount. Then, the payment is released to the surrogate each month during the pregnancy. In this case, you have to pay the surrogate extremely large amount once a surrogate is selected. But this is then balanced by paying the surrogate small amounts during the pregnancy as surrogate mother monthly pay-out.

In overseas programs, the compensation of the surrogate is paid on a month to month basis during the pregnancy. In this case, the monthly prenatal care is larger because they include the clinic fees and well as surrogate compensation.

IVF procedure and embryos transfer fee

When the parents are ready to conceive the embryos, a medical process like IVF is done. It is typically cost around $20,000 to $25,000 in the USA. For other surrogacy countries like Ukraine, IVF cost is $7,000.

The embryos transfer fee is typically included in the IVF cycle fee. However, the intended parents need to pay the surrogate for each embryo transfer attempt. This fee can vary from country to country from $1000 to $300.

Some of the intended parents also try to reduce this burden by separating the process into weeks or months apart.

Cost of medications in surrogacy

Different IVF clinics will treat the cost of medications differently. In some of the cases, the cost of the medication will be included in the original cost IVF cost while some of the cost of the medication will be added on as an extra expense.

That is why it is important to understand the IVF fee to make sure you include all miscellaneous fee when concluding overall surrogacy cost.

Payment for prenatal care

Payment for prenatal care begins upon confirmation of pregnancy of the surrogate. This pays for the housing and prenatal examinations of the surrogate, ultrasound, and private supervision (including housekeeping, transport, clothing allowance, etc.).

In most cases, it takes about 3 weeks after the IVF procedure to confirm the pregnancy. Payments are not refundable, so prenatal care costs are usually divided into installments. If the pregnancy ends for some reason, future installments are not needed, but any payments made to that point will be lost to the intended parents. Payment can be produced every month or a quarterly basis.

Delivery and recovery

Baby delivery fee varies country hugely depending upon the type of baby delivery and the number of babies born. Matter of fact the medical cost of baby birth varies country wise. In the USA, the baby birth cost is much higher, but health insurance of surrogate can make it manageable.

In other third world countries concept of surrogate insurance is not there, but lower-cost medical procedure makes it within reach for the parents.

Since deliveries often occur early and without warning, this payment is often needed well before the projected shipping date at Week 30 (if it is not kept in escrow).

The final compensation of the surrogate is withheld in some programs until after delivery to guarantee that she remains accessible during the bureaucratic phase of applying for citizenship, passports and the baby's return home.

Baby Exit Fee

A reputed surrogacy agency will assist the intended parents in after baby birth process. They include a small fee for processing documentation so that parents can navigate the baby exit process smoothly.

The documentation required to record the baby's birth and begin the baby's citizenship process is taken care of by the surrogacy agency. This often involves the birth certificate, surrogacy agreement copies, and IVF cycle and birth documents for hospitals.

Overseas programs may include additional charges to help the parents return home to the baby. Many embassies ask for DNA tests for the baby to make sure a genetic link with either of the parents. The cost of DNA tests varies but can cost $700 to $1000.

Besides this, if a court order is required for the legalization process, parents can expect to pay legal charges to a local lawyer directly. Other minor payments that intended parents need to pay is translation fees, notarization and apostille fees for the required documents.

Conclusion for surrogacy cost

High Surrogacy cost makes it out of reach for many couples. But if planned carefully, the intended parents can manage to have a hassle-free surrogacy arrangement. It is good to know all the related cost in advance and to include an extra or incidental cost that can add up quickly.

Would-be parents are advised to keep at least 10% extra aside to help them navigate through unexpected cost.

If you’d like to learn more about IVF, Egg Donation or surrogacy services globally, check out the rest of our website at IVF Conceptions. We offer legally secure and affordable surrogacy services to build families with love.

Our surrogacy consultancy is free of cost. We do not charge any fee and make sure that you are well aware of all your options to make an informed decision.

I am Neelam Chhagani and work as infertility and surrogacy consultant since 2010. I have a blog— , providing information, guide, and support to the would-be parent.