Traditional surrogacy results when a woman agrees to become pregnant and give birth to a child for another person or couple. She is the genetic parent of the child, as well as carrying and giving birth to that child. Generally conception takes place by intrauterine insemination just before the surrogate ovulates. When a fertility doctor performs the insemination, he is obliged by the FDA to test the intended father (IF) for communicable disease. The IF must also have a physical examination and answer questions designed to assess his risk of having a communicable disease.
The blood and urine tests, as well as the physical exam and questionnaire, must be conducted within 7 days of collection of the semen that will be used to inseminate the donor. Semen collected within 7 days of the FDA testing can be frozen for future use, or used immediately for insemination of a traditional surrogate. Several semen specimens can be collected (every other day) around the FDA testing date and frozen so that additional sperm is available should the surrogate not conceive on the first cycle. If additional semen is needed, the FDA testing must be repeated. These are very sensitive, highly accurate tests and the specialized lab that performs them charges $800. It is much more cost effective to collect and store as many samples as possible within the seven day window.
If out-of-state intended parents want to use fresh semen for insemination, a kit containing refrigeration medium and special containers must be used. It can be challenging to get semen to our clinic at the right time, especially if the surrogate happens to be ovulating on the weekend. This situation requires much closer management by our staff, and our coordination fee varies accordingly. Some intended parents have frozen semen collected and processed in the past. In that case samples can be shipped to us in a liquid nitrogen tank and thawed for use when the surrogate is ovulating. This assumes that the semen was collected and frozen within 7 days of FDA infectious disease screening of the intended father.
If your surrogate has not had any prior medical evaluation, and has not been a surrogate before, we may need to obtain an ultrasound of the ovaries and some blood tests to evaluate ovarian and uterine health and to screen for infectious disease. Our usual charges for office visits, ultrasound, and lab work would be billed to you.
Once your surrogate is pregnant we perform a first trimester ultrasound (sometimes two) to ensure a healthy start to the pregnancy. Pregnancy visits are generally paid for by regular health insurance.
Traditional surrogacy is much less common than gestational surrogacy, in part because of the legal and emotional entanglements that can occur when the surrogate is also the genetic parent of the child. It is critical that a legal contract, written by an attorney experienced in assisted reproductive law, be signed by all parties involved. We require that a copy of your contract is on file at our office before planning for insemination.
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Therapeutic Donor Intrauterine Insemination
- • LH Kit (OVUKIT) – $46.00
- • Frozen donor sperm specimen (estimate) + shipping – $300.00 – 500.00
- • Sperm wash for donor specimen – $120.00
- • Office visit with intrauterine insemination – $222.00
ESTIMATED TOTAL: $688.00 – 888.00
These charges are estimates and may be higher or lower in some cases. Some insurance programs will cover certain charges. Be sure to check with your insurance company for their policy. Because much of the cost of this program is for supplies which we must purchase for you, we request payment for donor insemination services at the time of the visit unless other arrangements have been made in advance.