How Can I Afford my Surrogacy Journey?

Surrogacy is expensive—there’s no way around it. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a millionaire in order to make your dream of surrogacy come true. There are several options available to intended parents that can help reduce the costs of surrogacy or make the costs more manageable over time. Here are some of those options:

Develop a savings plan: Even if you aren’t quite ready now to start your family, it’s never too early to start a financial plan to ensure you have the funds when you are ready. When developing this plan, you’ll want to assess how soon you hope to start your journey—and how aggressively you’ll need to save. Your timeline will also impact where you should think about keeping your money. If you hope to get started in just a couple of years, you should probably keep your money liquid so you have easy access to it, and so that it remains protected from the whims of the market. If you have five to ten years, however, you might consider savings options that will provide you with more growth—such as stocks, bonds, or certificates of deposits. You might want to consider working with a professional financial advisor to help devise a plan tailored to your unique needs.

Break your journey into pieces: You don’t need to have all of your money saved in order to start your journey. In fact, it may be a good idea for your to select your egg and sperm donors on the earlier side (if need be) and create embryos that you can freeze and use later. Doing so will allow you to break up the costs into chunks that you might be able to manage more easily over time. This may also help speed up your matching process once you are ready to begin—many surrogates prefer to work with intended parents who have embryos ready to go.

Altruistic surrogates and known egg donors: Some intended parents may have friends or family members in their lives who are willing to serve as an “altruistic” surrogate or a known egg donor—meaning they will do so without compensation. Altruistic surrogates and known donors can help cut down your costs significantly—but they come with important considerations as well. It is no small favor to be a surrogate or a known donor to a friend or loved one!

Grants: There are also some limited scholarship programs available. If you are a gay man or same-sex couple, you can approach the non-profit organization Men Having Babies, which can help offset the costs of surrogacy for gay intended parents who need financial assistance. The group has also worked with a number of reputable agencies and clinics across the United States to provide certain services at a reduced or pro-bono rate.

Loans: You may be able to take out a home equity loan or some other personal loan to help finance your surrogacy journey. You can start by asking your financial institution. Increasingly, there are also more loans and financing options available specifically for family planning purposes, so you should also research these options in your area. You will want to really make sure you will have the ability to pay back the loan as scheduled to protect your financial health.

Employer-assisted benefits: Increasingly, employers are covering certain elements of a surrogacy journey for their employees. This may pertain to costs associated with IVF, agency fees, or even some of the insurance costs.

Crowdfunding: You might feel uneasy asking friends and family to support your adoption journey—but you might be surprised by how many people in your life want to help you reach your dream of parenthood. There are many platforms available for these purposes, like GoFundMe.com. Many intended parents have successfully raised some of the funds they need through this method.