Gestational Carrier Eligibility Screening
The idea of screening your own gestational carrier candidates may seem daunting, but Surrogacy Journey Consulting is here to help! The first step in matching is evaluating a candidate’s medical eligibility. These criteria are largely set by IVF clinics and you doctor will give the ultimate approval (or medical clearance) for your gestational carrier.
Where does she live? Surrogacy is regulated state by state. You cannot safely work with a surrogate in state where compensated surrogacy is not permitted. We recommend you do not work with a surrogate in state where surrogacy contracts are unenforceable.
How is she? In general, surrogates need to be between 21 and 42 years old.
Has she had at least one prior, uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery? Surrogates must have had at least one prior pregnancy and delivery without complications. Additionally, most clinics will not allow surrogates who have had more than 5 deliveries or who have had more than 2 prior C-sections because of increased risk of complications.
Were all of her prior deliveries full term? For a singleton pregnancy, “full term” means at least 37 weeks gestation at the time of delivery. If she had a multiple pregnancy, “full term” might mean something different and will depend on the circumstances.
What is her BMI? Most clinics require surrogates to have a BMI of less than 30 or 32.
Does she smoke or has she ever smoked? Surrogates must be nonsmokers. Consideration of former smokers is usually a case by case basis.
What form of birth control does she use currently? If she had a tubal ligation, you will need to know more about what type of procedure was done. If she is using the Depo-Provera injection, she will need to stop getting injections and get a normal period again before beginning medical eligibility review. If she is using an IUD or Nexplanon, it will need to be removed before beginning medical eligibility review. Birth control pills are not a problem.
How long has it been since her last delivery? Most clinics will require that a surrogate be at least 1 year postpartum before attempting another pregnancy, but she can certainly start the eligibility review process sooner with a planned transfer closer to 1 year postpartum. Most clinics will not work with a surrogate whose most recent delivery was longer than 6 years ago.
Does she or her children receive public benefits, particularly state-provided medical insurance? Most clinics will not work with a surrogate if she or her children would lose state-provided benefits as a result of the surrogacy (compensation is considered “income” in the eligibility evaluation for state-provided benefits).
Does she have any medical concerns that are made worse by pregnancy? Some medical conditions are made worse by pregnancy or require medications that may not be safe in pregnancy. We use a much higher standard in determining “safety” for a surrogate pregnancy than is used for a surrogate carrying her own pregnancy. Some examples of medical conditions that may make you ineligible to be a surrogate are:
Use of psychiatric medications (it doesn’t matter whether they are used for a psychiatric diagnosis or not)
Gastric bypass surgery
Heart condition
Prior blood clotting issues
Severe migraines treated regularly with prescription medications
Regular use of prescription medication that has not been established to be safe in pregnancy
History of cancer
What pregnancy or delivery complications would prevent someone from being a surrogate? This is the trickiest question! It always depends on her individual circumstances. There are some complications that will almost always disqualify a surrogate though:
Delivery of a singleton before 37 weeks
Pre-term labor
Post-partum depression treated with medication
Poorly controlled gestational diabetes
Pre-eclampsia
Placental abruption
Repeated miscarriage
Uterine abnormality (endometriosis, adenyomyosis, fibroids, etc)
Surrogacy Journey Consulting can give you the tools to complete initial screens of gestational surrogate candidates, avoid spending time and money to have your clinic complete screenings of candidates that are not medically eligible, and get you on the road to parenthood faster!
Schedule a free, 30-minute consultation to learn more about our services! Contact us today at 201-390-7400 or email stephanie@surrogacyjourneyconsulting.com.
