FINANCES
As a route to fatherhood, surrogacy can be very expensive. There are many costs to consider including fertility clinc costs, surrogate expenses, egg donor finding fees, and various medication needed for a successful pregnancy. In the UK it is illegal to advertise for and pay a surrogate anything more than expenses. Understanding expenses are crucial to ensure a fair and stress free journey for both you and your surrogate.
Case Studies
Below are two hypothetical case studies detailing financial expenditure for a straight (traditional) surrogacy and a host (gestational) surrogacy journey. It is difficult to give an exact figure for any one journey as there are so many variables such as:
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Costs will be greater if you have to have more than one IVF cycle.
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Costs can be reduced if your local NHS trust can provide some testing for free - not all NHS trusts offer that service however. The costs therefore below include a range for each item, from the most inexpensive to the more expensive variable.
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Each journey listed below assumes that pregnancy is achieved on the first try and that this pregnancy was brought to term but actually you may have multiple attempts at a successful full term pregnancy. As the length of your journey increases, some costs over time will also increase e.g. some expenses, or medication associated with repeated embryo transfers. So whilst you can be given an approximate figure for the cost of surrogacy it doesn't always take into account how long your journey will be. Simply put, longer journeys cost more.
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If you join an agency you can expect to pay up to tens of thousands of pounds more.
Expenses
Expenses vary from surrogate to surrogate and responses to treatment also varies. A surrogates expenses are any costs she or her family has incurred as a result of your surrogacy journey. This includes not only travel to attend appointments, but missed wages, child care costs, pregnancy clothing, take-away meals when the surrogate cannot cook for her family, orthopaedic equipment etc. When it comes to expenses it is important to have trust in your team. In some surrogacy organisations surrogates are not required to show you an itemised list of expenses - the ethos is of trust and friendship
Straight surrogacy
£7K to £30K
£0-£1200
Surrogacy organisation joining fees. Fees vary according to the organisation. If independent, then no fee.
£4000- £21000
Surrogate expenses. This has a wide variation as each woman's circumstance is different (see note above)
£0-
£600
Initial blood/semen/genetic investigations of you for surrogacy organisations (or if indy for you and surrogate). Cheaper at GUM clinic than private clinic. Some GPs provide this for free.
£0-
£100
If an independent journey you will need to pay for a DBS check and a medical report for your surrogate. Surrogacy organisations will cover this cost.
£60-
£600
Home insemination kits, plus travel to place of insemination for yourself and surrogate 2-3 times a month.
£30-
£40
Home ovulation and pregnancy test kits. Assuming pregnancy achieved on first try.
£500-
£700
Expenses getting to know surrogate over a period of months (travel, expense account, food etc)
£500-
£700
Wills and life insurance for you and your surrogate.
£0-
£1000
Accommodation if you decide to move near your surrogate around the time of due date.
£2000-
£4000
Contingency funds in case of emergency e.g. surrogate's salary after taking time off work after having complications or loss of salary during a pandemic as needing to shield etc.
TOTAL =
£7,090
to £29,940
These values represent the range of costs from the total lowest costs to the total highest costs. You could also have higher costs in some areas and lower costs in others and so your total costs could be somewhere in between.
Host surrogacy
£19K to £47K
£0-£1200
Surrogacy organsisation joining fee. Fees vary according to the organisation. If independent, then no fee.
£4000-£21000
Surrogate expenses. This has a wide variation as each woman's circumstance is different (see note above)
£400 - £1200
Initial blood/semen/genetic investigations with clinic and organisations, including consultation fees. Cheaper at GUM clinic than private clinic. Few GPs provide this for free. Clinic fees make this more expensive than a straight journey
£0-
£100
If an independent journey you will need to pay for a DBS check and a medical report for your surrogate. Surrogacy organisations will cover this cost.
£11,000-
£14,000
IVF cycle with donor eggs. You may need more than one cycle if you do not produce enough quality embryos. ICSI is an additional cost.
£1000-
£3000
Additional medical expenses during IVF cycle (tests, medication, embryoscope)
£500-
£700
Expenses getting to know surrogate over a period of months (travel, expense account, food etc)
£500-
£700
Wills and life insurance for you and your surrogate.
£0-
£1000
Accomodation if you decide to move near your surrogate around the time of the due date.
£2000-£4000
Contingency funds in case of emergency e.g. surrogate's salary after taking time off work after having complications or loss of salary during a pandemic as needing to shield etc.
TOTAL =
£19,400
to £46,900
These values represent the range of costs from the total lowest costs to the total highest costs. You could also have higher costs in some areas and lower costs in others and so your total costs could be somewhere in between.