Where to begin? Traditional or gestational surrogacy?

Putting our excitement aside and posting some serious research.

Surrogacy is a complex and lengthy process involving medical, legal, financial, and emotional aspects. There are wealth of information on the Internet, from professionals to those who have gone through the process sharing their experiences on discussion forums and social media.

After doing our research...reading and reading...."where to begin" was the question at the beginning of our journey. Three important questions right off the back were:

1. Traditional or gestational surrogacy?

2. Independent or a surrogacy agency?

3. Domestic or abroad?

In traditional surrogacy, the woman not only carries the fetus but also supplies the egg to create the pregnancy. Traditional surrogacy generally results from Artificial Insemination ("AI"). Artificial insemination can also occur when a woman uses a known sperm donor or unknown sperm donor.

Gestational surrogacy, by contrast, results from in-vitro fertilization. A Gestational surrogate carries the fetus during the pregnancy, but she does not provide the egg and has no genetic link to the baby. Instead, the egg is provided by an egg donor (or, by the intended mother, in the case of a woman who cannot carry the baby for medical reasons). The egg is fertilized by the process of in-vitro fertilization, then grown into an embryo, and then implanted into the gestational surrogate. Here is a link to a summary of two types of surrogacy. 

Each type of surrogacy has different legal and financial implications. Legally, it varies by states in the U.S. which adds additional layer of complexity, especially for same-sex couples. Legal proceedings for parental rights are also different. In our case, every time we found a potential surrogate, we would contact lawyers in the state to make sure it was doable. Financially, traditional surrogacy would cost less because an egg donor and in-vitro fertilization are not needed.

We decided to go for gestational surrogacy for only one reason - it could be a little trickier to have the baby genetically linked to the surrogate, both legally and socially.