Can You Adopt Embryos for Surrogacy?

When you choose embryo adoption and surrogacy, your future family is in your hands.

If you’re navigating the challenges of infertility or exploring alternative paths to parenthood, combining embryo adoption with surrogacy might be the perfect solution for your family.

This article will share how embryo adoption and surrogacy can work together, and give you first steps to become a parent when you are unable to carry a pregnancy and don’t have embryos.

When you have embryos ready, you can get connected to a surrogate in as little as 1 - 6 months. View surrogates now, or get personalized support from a surrogacy specialist when you fill out this simple form.

Why Choose Embryo Adoption and Surrogacy?

Embryo adoption and surrogacy combined can be ideal for families in many situations. Some of the common reasons people choose this combination are:

• You are an LGBTQ couple who is unable to carry a pregnancy
• You don’t want to go through another unsuccessful round of IVF
• You have few or no quality embryos left and want the best chances at pregnancy
• You have medical reasons that you are unable to carry a pregnancy or create embryos

How Does Embryo Adoption and Surrogacy Work?

When you choose embryo adoption and surrogacy, Embryo adoption provides the embryos (usually from another couple), while surrogacy provides the carrier (the surrogate mother).

The “adopting” parents are the legal and social parents, even though the surrogate carries the pregnancy. Legal agreements are critical to clarify parental rights, both for the adopting parents and the surrogate.

Here’s how each part works together:

• Embryo Adoption: The adopting parents receive embryos, either through donation or adoption, which are typically created and unused after another couple has completed in vitro fertilization (IVF). These embryos are often frozen and stored until they are ready for transfer.
• Surrogacy: If the adopting parents are unable to carry a pregnancy themselves (due to medical reasons, health concerns, or other factors) or have a low chance of achieving pregnancy, they can choose to work with a gestational surrogate—a woman who agrees to carry the adopted embryo and give birth to the child. The surrogate has no genetic link to the child; she only carries the embryo and provides the environment for fetal development.
• Embryo Transfer: The process of transferring the embryo to the surrogate’s uterus is similar to IVF. The surrogate undergoes hormone treatments to prepare her body for implantation. The embryo (which is genetically unrelated to the surrogate) is then transferred into her uterus, and if successful, the surrogate carries the pregnancy to term.
• Legal and Parental Rights: Before the embryo is transferred, the adopting parents and the surrogate usually sign a legal agreement to establish the parental rights of the adoptive parents. In some cases, a pre-birth order or second-parent adoption may be necessary to legally recognize the adopting parents as the child’s parents after birth.

Success Rates of Embryo Donation and Surrogacy

Embryo transfer success rate to a surrogate depends on multiple factors, including age, embryo quality, and fertility clinic, but one study found that embryo transfer to a surrogate resulted in a 52.5% pregnancy rate for frozen embryos per cycle, compared to a 42.4% pregnancy rate for non-surrogates.

How Can I Get Started?

You can get help from a surrogacy professional here, connect with embryo adoption agencies, or find a fertility clinic that can help you get embryos.

As soon as you have embryos ready, you can get matched with a surrogate in as little as 1 - 6 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between embryo transfer and surrogacy?

Embryo transfer is the process of placing embryos inside of the uterus after they have been created in a medical laboratory environment. Surrogacy involves a specific type of embryo transfer where the embryos are not genetically related to the woman who gets pregnant, and the woman who carries the pregnancy will not be parenting the baby when it is born.

How much is surrogacy if you have an embryo?

Surrogacy can cost anywhere from $80,000-$300,000 or more, and having embryos can sometimes reduce your costs by $5000-$15,000.

Can you choose gender with embryo adoption?

You can choose embryos of a particular gender if you choose embryo adoption. When embryos undergo genetic testing, you can find out the gender before any embryos are transferred to the uterus.