While many couples who decide to start families will take the conventional path of a woman becoming pregnant and giving birth to a child, not every hopeful family has this option. Medical circumstances, such as a heart condition or a hysterectomy that removes the uterus, either put a woman and baby at risk during pregnancy or make it medically impossible to occur.
Surrogacy is where another woman agrees to become pregnant, either with donor sperm and her own egg or with an implanted fertilized egg. Once the pregnancy has run its course and she gives birth, she unites the newborn with its intended parents, and a new life together as a family can begin.
This alternative is becoming increasingly popular with couples, especially those wanting a gestational pregnancy where the IVF technique is used, and the baby can be a direct genetic descendant of the hopeful father and mother, with a true 50% mix of DNA from both parents, as in a traditional pregnancy. The only difference is that the baby gestates in another woman’s uterus.
One decision many hopeful families are making now is that when they commit to surrogacy, they work with clinics in other countries. This can be for many reasons, from cost savings without compromising healthcare to better legal choices for surrogacy in another country. However, this only happens when couples work with reliable, reputable clinics or agencies. How do you find this out?
Legality
First and foremost, always research the legality of surrogacy in the country you are looking at. While individuals or even groups may offer surrogacy services in countries, this may be illegal. Thailand, for example, no longer allows surrogacies with foreign couples, but some groups try to provide appealing black market services because of the lower pricing.
Healthcare Quality
Another important indicator of a clinic’s reliability is the economic and technological status of the nation it is based in. Kenya, for example, offers some of the lowest costs in surrogacy to hopeful families. However, Kenya is also a nation that is still in developing nation status, with poor healthcare systems and access to modern medical technologies, versus a country like Georgia, which has world-class lab and medical facilities.
Research Staff
Another important indicator is the ability to research staff for legitimacy and reliability. Reputable agencies and clinics will clearly and transparently list important staff members such as doctors. The Internet being what it is today should make verifying other staff’s credentials and qualifications easy, as most people will have an Internet presence that goes back years.
It should be an immediate red flag if you can’t find any long-standing “footprint” of an agency, clinic, or its staff if they have been legitimately operating for years with satisfied clients. No successful doctor, for example, is a complete unknown to the medical community.
Reputable agencies and clinics may also have numerous verifiable partnerships and alliances with reliable facilities. Stork Surrogacy, for example, works with partners like:
GGRC Clinic
The GGRC clinic specializes in total, end-to-end surrogacy support, even at the earliest phases, like searching for and interviewing surrogate mother candidates for selection. At the latter stages, such as after the birth, the clinic can even assist with legal matters if there are protocols required for the citizenship of the newborn.
Zhordania IVF Center
The Zhordania center in the capital of Tbilisi, Georgia, provides In Vitro Fertilization facilities with modern labs and personnel. The IVF procedure is the best alternative for hopeful families desiring a “true” genetic descendant, that is, identical to traditional pregnancies, a 50% genetic mix of the hopeful mother and father. If the preferred eggs are already in cryogenic storage in another location, they have the experience of safely transporting them anywhere in the world back to the center to be prepared for viable use in implantation.
Chachava Medical Center
Chachava Medical Center is located in the capital of Tbilisi and is one of the oldest centers in the country, serving Tbilisi residents for over 100 years. It opened its doors to patients of Georgia in 1875, helping local medical needs. Today, it treats patients from all over the world with various medical requirements. It sports a comprehensive suite of services for all surrogacy needs, including obstetric and gynecological-related medical assessments and treatment.
Inova IVF Center
The Inova IVF center is a recent member of the Tbilisi medical community. It only began operations in 2015. The newness of this facility means cutting-edge design and technology when it comes to infrastructure and even personnel. Like the Zhordania IVF Center, IVF services are available here. Other services include techniques like Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis for couples with a medical history in their family of hereditary disorders. These screening techniques analyze multiple fertilized eggs. Any that may carry family diseases, like sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis, are detected and rejected for use in implantation to ensure the baby is free from congenital conditions that could impact the future.