Traditional Surrogacy (TS)
In this case, the surrogate mother is genetically related to the baby, as her eggs are used to create the embryo. In most cases, the medical procedure used is intrauterine (IU).
Gestational surrogacy (GS)
The surrogate mother has no genetic/ biological relation to the embryo. This is the most common type of surrogacy globally. It is also the most popular in Canada, and the USA. Embryos are either created using the biological material of intended parents. Also, in some cases, couples need to use egg or sperm donors, especially in the case of Gay and/or Lesbian parents.
- Egg Donor: It is not always easy to find egg donors in many countries. Laws are different regarding anonymity of egg donation.
- Wait time: many surrogates prefer gestational surrogacy, as it is emotionally less complicated. Intended parents who are looking for TS, can expect to wait longer, to be able to find a willing surrogate. Although it is not impossible, as TS is also preferable for some surrogates, because there is limited use of medicines. IVF creation is an additional process, which increased the time for embryo transfer. Depending on the country, wait times for creating embryos can also be longer. For example, creating embryos through the NHS can mean longer waiting times, compared to going privately. Same is the case in other countries such as Netherlands, and Germany. In the Netherlands, there is no private option, so factor the wait time as well. If you are in Germany, you have several options for creating embryos privately.
- Costs: TS tends to be cheaper than GS. IVF (the process of creating embryos) can be costly, depending on the country they are being created. Shipping of embryos from your country to country of surrogacy will add extra costs. Average shipping costs from UK or a European country to the Americas (USA, Canada, Latin America), can be around Euro 3,000/ USD 3,500/GBP 2,600. Some countries no longer allow shipping of embryos to other regions. For example, Netherlands does not allow embryo shipment to the Americas. Or some countries might need additional certifications or governmental approvals. All of these can add costs.
- Legality: Depending on your country of your residence, laws may treat traditional surrogacy different from gestational surrogacy. In some US states, the surrogate is considered to be the mother, and the parents need to adopt the baby, to obtain parental rights. These additional steps are not needed for gestational surrogacy, as in the US, parentage is established through a pre-birth order. This is limited to the USA. Some countries do not accept pre-birth order, and as such, the process remains the same in both cases (TS & GS).