It’s natural for couples to decide the next phase of life together should be to start a family. Unfortunately, not every couple can go the traditional route of the woman in the relationship allowing herself to become pregnant, so a baby is born nine months later. Surgical procedures or even medical conditions can sometimes make pregnancy a health risk or no longer physically possible.
For hopeful couples in this situation, another solution besides adoption is surrogacy. This is where another woman who has been medically examined and deemed suitable agrees to become pregnant on behalf of the hopeful couple. When the baby is born, that child is then united with the intended parents, and the new life together as a family begins.
Surrogacy as an option for having children has been a known and practiced technique throughout the world for millennia, with even the Bible including examples of it. However, despite surrogacy being a well-established technique globally, there are some reasons why other cities, such as Tbilisi, in Georgia, might be a better fit for couples willing to invest in surrogacy in another country.
Local Barriers
One of the biggest reasons to consider surrogacy in a city like Tbilisi is because the barrier to entry for an ideal surrogacy experience is lower in Tbilisi. Surrogacy is widely practiced worldwide, but not everywhere, and not the same “style.” Some countries, for example, have banned any kind of surrogacy. France and Germany are prime examples of this.
While legally permitting surrogacy, many countries limit the options available to couples by only allowing “altruistic surrogacy.” This is a type of surrogacy where the surrogate mother makes a substantial sacrifice of her time and biological resources to volunteer to help a hopeful couple. While she may receive some financial coverage to help offset living and medical expenses as the pregnancy wears on, she is essentially undertaking this massive effort out of the goodness of her heart, and many women are, understandably, not in a position to do this for the sake of another couple.
Compensated surrogacies cost more because they provide significant financial recognition to the surrogate mother for her contribution to the process. However, in exchange for the added investment, hopeful couples enjoy a much larger pool of suitable candidates, adding more choice and control to the experience.
Surrogacy Type Matters
From a procedural perspective, there are two types of surrogacy, and the choice of one over another will have a big impact on the final total cost of surrogacy.
“Traditional” surrogacy is less resource-intensive. The surrogate mother’s egg will be used for fertilization with this choice. Donor sperm, typically from the hopeful father in the couple or from another donor source if unavailable, will be used. The artificial insemination process is straightforward and comparatively low cost.
In Vitro Fertilization or IVF draws on considerably more resources and requires more investment. Here, an egg from someone other than the surrogate mother is used. IVF is the most common procedure for hopeful couples that want a more “traditional” baby, in the sense that the child may be born from a surrogate mother, but genetically, because of the use of egg and sperm from the hopeful parents, the child is a true genetic mix of both, just as with traditional pregnancy.
However, the costs pile up with this choice. There is a cost for the collection of a donor egg. A significant cost is required for the fertilization of the egg and sperm in the lab, with an additional cost for the implantation of that fertilized egg in the surrogate mother.
There may be additional costs on top of this, depending on need or preference. Some hopeful mothers can’t harvest a “fresh” egg because they had surgery, such as a hysterectomy, that removed the uterus and the eggs. The remaining eggs were thus stored in a cryogenic facility, frozen until required. The added cost comes from safely retrieving and then transporting those eggs to the preferred lab site in a viable state. An additional cost may also come if Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis is required. Some couples may risk passing on hereditary disorders that run in their families, such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia. PGD is a screening process of multiple fertilized eggs to detect these disorders so that only a fertilized egg without the condition is implanted.
Find The Right Clinic
Surrogacy clinics in Tbilisi, Georgia, are used to working with foreign clients and, in some cases, have extensive partnerships with all the required vendors for different surrogacy needs. This can often save time and money since hopeful parents talk to a single service provider, the clinic, who then quickly coordinates with the other providers, all under one roof. This, combined with the lower pricing and currency differences of surrogacy clinics in Tbilisi, Georgia, versus clinics in places like the USA, means that hopeful parents get better, fairer pricing without compromising on quality.