After talking a ton we have decided we will not be pursuing surrogacy overseas. I have spoken with several great GS's who are happy to work with us in our comp price range. I did not expect that at all, so I have been pleasantly surprised. We have been talking to 2 that I really like, one who is my first choice lives about 6 hours south of us and seems like someone I would really get along with. The 2nd is great too, but she lives out of state and I would love to be closer for cycling, doctors appointments, etc... It would cut down a lot of the travel costs.
I am getting cautiously excited that we will have a match soon and finally be able to move forward!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
India?
I have been researching surrogacy options in India a lot lately, and I won't lie our only reason for going there would be because it is so much cheaper, the entire process costs about the same as typical first time GS comp only. I have been looking into 3 clinics that seem to have the highest success rates. I'm a bit iffy on going overseas, financially it fits our budget perfectly, I was just hoping to be more involved in the pregnancy process. My DH is ok with it, I think he would prefer it, he definitely wants more of a business relationship with our surrogate, I'm the friendly chatty one :)
So here are our options so far:
1. Surrogacy Centre of India - Total Cost $ 24,258
2. Delhi-IVF - Total Cost $ 25,228
3. Akansha Clinic - Total Cost $ 24,211
4. Rotunda - Total Cost $ 24,718
So needless to say there are several options, all of which have success rates similar to those in the US, a few even better. So we just need to decide if it's right for us. There are a lot of pros and cons
PROS:
Affordable
Less chance of getting emotionally attached should something happen
I've always wanted to visit India
Reliable updates, ultrasound pictures, etc...
CONS:
Potential Red tape/bribery seems typical
Far away, I would not get to be very involved or know our surrogate very well at all
Some people would think we were taking advantage of a poor Indian woman (which is debatable)
Recovering from egg retrieval in a foreign country
Travel time, and travel with a newborn
In a perfect world we would find an amazing GS who lives in the same state as us and is looking for low comp, but I know that wont happen! So I will continue to research India, look for other IP's who have gone there and listen to their experiences. I don't want to get ourselves stuck in a nightmare to save money, but I also don't want to wait several more years to become parents while we try to triple our savings to afford a surrogate in the US.
Monday, January 2, 2012
First Post
I thought it would be fun, and helpful to document our surrogacy journey. My DH and I have been together for 10 years, and can't have a baby together due to my lack of a uterus. We have scrimped and saved, I have donated my eggs twice and we are now finally able to start a journey!
We are in the VERY beginning stages, I am researching as much as possible. We definitely have a strict budget, which is probably small in the US, so we are debating going through India, or trying to find a low comp GS here in the US. I did not realize how incredibly expensive this process would be. We finally saved enough for a few IVF cycles and then bam, comp is about the same price.
Not that we are looking for someone to do it for free or anything, I just don't know how normal couples are able to afford it, especially when nothing is certain and who knows how many cycles it may take or what complications or unforeseen expenses can arise. So the financial aspect is a bit discouraging, but I am confident we will be able to make it work somehow :)
I am definitely going to continue researching like crazy, both overseas and in the US. I have joined a couple of surrogacy message boards, which have been a wealth of information so far. I am cautiously excited about starting this phase in our life. We went through the TTC phase, the acceptance that we would need a 3rd party phase, the saving and wishing one of us had sisters phase, and now we get to move on to the matching phase.
We have definitely decided we are going indy after looking into several agencies, with all the message board classifieds, being able to get background checks, etc... I just can't see paying a a huge amount for someone else to do it for us, I would rather it go to comp. Besides I am extremely organized, have time and it kind of personalizes the experience for us.
We are in the VERY beginning stages, I am researching as much as possible. We definitely have a strict budget, which is probably small in the US, so we are debating going through India, or trying to find a low comp GS here in the US. I did not realize how incredibly expensive this process would be. We finally saved enough for a few IVF cycles and then bam, comp is about the same price.
Not that we are looking for someone to do it for free or anything, I just don't know how normal couples are able to afford it, especially when nothing is certain and who knows how many cycles it may take or what complications or unforeseen expenses can arise. So the financial aspect is a bit discouraging, but I am confident we will be able to make it work somehow :)
I am definitely going to continue researching like crazy, both overseas and in the US. I have joined a couple of surrogacy message boards, which have been a wealth of information so far. I am cautiously excited about starting this phase in our life. We went through the TTC phase, the acceptance that we would need a 3rd party phase, the saving and wishing one of us had sisters phase, and now we get to move on to the matching phase.
We have definitely decided we are going indy after looking into several agencies, with all the message board classifieds, being able to get background checks, etc... I just can't see paying a a huge amount for someone else to do it for us, I would rather it go to comp. Besides I am extremely organized, have time and it kind of personalizes the experience for us.
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