Intended Parents

Surrogacy Financing: Loans, Grants, Investments and More

Finances are a common concern for anyone looking to grow their family and using assisted reproductive technologies (ART) like in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy can be costly.

Understanding your financing options can ensure you are prepared for the financial commitment ahead.

Get the answers you need for your surrogacy financing—fill out our online contact form today.

This article lays out what surrogacy financing could look like for you, from budgeting tips to grants and loans for surrogacy and more.

How to Finance Surrogacy

When it comes to your surrogacy financing options, there are a number of ways to help make it affordable for you.

Loans for Surrogacy

In the past, family-building organizations offered loans and grants to help those dealing with infertility to help grow their family.

When considering any type of loan, but especially surrogacy loans, be mindful of surrogacy loan rates. Your loan rate will be determined by:

Interest rate from your credit score
Profession
Financial situation

Some businesses like banks, credit unions and financing companies have begun offering personal loan programs specifically for family-building that help cover the cost of fertility treatments and surrogacy.

U.S. Bank Family Planning: U.S. Bank offers a number of financing options for your journey that include personal loans, personal lines of credit, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. They offer up to $25,000 for non-U.S. Bank customers and up to $50,000 for U.S. Bank customers.
PNC Bank: PNC offers personal loans between $1,000-$35,000 that can go toward pregnancy, adoption, surrogacy, foster-to-adopt program costs, assisted reproduction or fertility treatments.
SoFi: With personal loans ranging from $5,000-$100,000, SoFi’s personal loans can cover pregnancy, adoption, IVF or surrogacy costs with manageable monthly payments.

Fertility Loans for Surrogacy

Fertility financing companies are another professional that provides loans to help you grow their family.

SunFish: SunFish offers low-interest fertility loans for up to $100,000 for IVF, surrogacy and egg-freezing starting at $200 per month. There are several options to choose from with no prepayment penalties or origination fees with terms ranging from 2-7 years.
Future Family: FutureFamily offers IVF plans that cover clinic procedures, lab work, medications and more all starting at $300-$475 per month.
CapexMD: CapexMD has a same day review for its applications when submitted before 2 p.m. with funds being disbursed to your provider within two business days if approved.

Surrogacy loans for bad credit are available, but they may be harder to find as most medical and surrogacy loans are essentially personal loans.

Surrogacy Loans for Bad Credit

BetterMed: One such example of a company with “a 0% loan that cuts the cost of surrogacy by at least $35,000.”
Prosper: Prosper offers personal loans from $2,000-$50,000, covering IVF and fertility treatments.

Surrogacy Grants

Grants are another form of funding that can help you afford surrogacy.

Some grants have broad eligibility requirements, while others have strict criteria. Grants do not need to be repaid, unlike loans, making them an appealing option for those looking to reduce their financial burden.

Be sure you qualify for any grants before applying.

ANENDEN Gives: Each grant awarded will provide between $5,000 and $7,500 to assist with the patient’s fertility treatment.
Tinina Q. Cade Foundation Family Building Grant: The Tinina Q. Cade Foundation™ Family Building Grant is an annual award that provides up to $10,000 to needy, infertile families.
Samantha’s Gift of Hope: This monetary award has been distributed quarterly to chosen families who joined, qualified for, and applied successfully to the IVF 100% Success Guaranteed Plan.
Footsteps for Fertility Foundation: Footsteps for Fertility Grants are awarded to couples who require fertility treatments to have children and are typically $5,000 when funding allows.

Surrogacy grants for LGBT couples

AGC Scholarship Foundation:The AGC Hope Scholarship, helps make parenthood possible for individuals who do not have the financial resources the opportunity to fulfill their dream of becoming parents. A confidential application will include your infertility history, personal situation and financial need.
Baby Quest Foundation: Their grants can be used to cover any expenses associated with assisted reproduction such as IVF, egg and sperm donation, egg freezing, and surrogacy. Grants vary in amount because of the difference in funds needed.
The Kyle and Samantha Busch Bundle of Joy Fund: With 131 grants awarded totaling $1,721,884; The Bundle of Joy Fund provides monetary grants for in-need couples struggling with infertility.
Cade Foundation: Awardees can use the funds for domestic adoption and infertility treatments including IUI, IVF, donor egg, gestational carrier. Grants do not cover egg freezing or embryo freezing.

Surrogacy grants for cancer patients

LIVESTRONG Fertility: The Livestrong Fertility Discount Program works with clinics nationwide that have all committed to at least a 25% service discount for qualifying patients.
Worth the Wait: Worth the Wait provides grants for legal fees, surrogate compensation and related costs.
Team Maggie for a Cure: The Team Maggie’s Dream Grant provides fertility assistance grants for up to $2,500 for U.S.-based residents facing cancer treatments with fertility preservation expenses including egg retrieval and up to 1 year of storage fees.
Heart Beat Program: Heart Beat provides select fertility medications at no cost for eligible patients. Qualifying patients must be female, be a US citizen or permanent resident, have received a diagnosis of cancer, and have received no chemotherapy within the previous 12 months.

Credit Cards

In some cases, credit cards may be used for affording surrogacy.

Be mindful of high interest rates on these cards if the balance is not paid off quickly.

Health Savings Account (HSA) for Surrogacy

An HSA allows you to pay for qualified out-of-pocket expenses using pre-tax dollars.

The money in your HSA belongs to you and if your employer offers one, ask them about it as it may be able to be used for some surrogacy-related costs like IVF.

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)

A HELOC is a common way intended parents have used to finance their surrogacy journeys.

HELOCs are only paid back once you start using it and their limits are typically much higher than credit cards. If a HELOC is something you’re considering, be sure that payments can be paid in full and on time as failing to do so could result in losing your house.

Using Your 401K for Surrogacy

Some families choose to borrow from their retirement accounts. With 401(K) loans, you can borrow up to 50% of the account balance, but there are stipulations on repayment.

Withdrawing from your 401K is an option too but you will be required to pay taxes on the amount withdrawn.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a popular way to raise money, thanks to various available platforms. Crowdfunding gives you an opportunity to tell others about your compelling story and journey to experience parenthood.

Traditional fundraisers like benefit dinners and other community-based events are great ways to help crowdfund your surrogacy as are websites such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter.

Fertility Finance Companies

Some financial organizations specialize in fertility financing. The following organizations offer loans and payment programs to help make surrogacy affordable for you:

SunFish: SunFish’s IVF success program is designed to help you financially with your path to parenthood with discounts on medication, fixed pricing, customized refunds and comprehensive support.
Future Family:Future Family offers services to help address the financial strain it can put on a family looking to grow, allowing you to focus on other important aspects at hand like treatment.
Prosper Healthcare Lending: Founded in 2005, Prosper has helped over 1.7 million people access more than $26 billion in loans.
New Life Fertility Financing: New Life is the only full service insurance agency specializing exclusively in Assisted Reproduction Insurance.
CapexMD: CapexMD has one loan for all aspects of fertility financing, partnering with hundreds of fertility providers and pharmacies.

Learn more about how much money you need for surrogacy

What Happens if You Can’t Afford Surrogacy?

If you can’t afford surrogacy, that’s OK. There are many avenues when it comes to financing for surrogacy that can help you live out your dreams of becoming a parent. Some of these avenues include grants, loans and fundraising for your surrogacy on your own.

If you aren’t able to afford surrogacy at the moment, there will be plenty of surrogates ready and waiting for you when you are.

If financing isn’t an option or doesn’t offer enough to afford surrogacy, then there are ways you can save money to help you afford it.

How to Save Money for Surrogacy

When planning for surrogacy financing, it’s important to be mindful of how you are spending your money.

Here are a few strategies you can implement:

You can reduce expenses by prioritizing essential needs. This could come in the form of selling non-essential items or moving to a smaller living space to help contribute toward your surrogacy costs.

Family Equality recommends creating a dedicated savings account for surrogacy, the same way you would for other large investments like your child’s college education, a vacation or a new home.

If all these costs and the numbers that come with them have you looking for help, a financial advisor can provide you with a clear picture to help you get a better understanding of what your costs are and how you can prepare for them based on your specific budget or income.

Determine where your non-essential spending is going and reduce some of those expenses to put that money toward your surrogacy journey. This could mean smaller things like dining out or shopping trips to even bigger expenses like annual vacations.

Digital budgeting apps like Rocket Money or You Need a Budget or using spreadsheet trackers can help you track each and every dollar. Having a clear outline of your income and how its spend can help you figure out where your money is going and where cost-cutting can take place to put more money toward surrogacy-related expenses.

Understanding Surrogacy Costs and the value of Working with an Agency

The cost of surrogacy is often a concern for those looking to use it to grow their family. It’s a significant investment and you are likely wondering what this investment does in terms of your journey.

Here are three ways the cost of surrogacy, and working with an agency, help you become a parent:

Matching Quickly: One of the primary functions of an agency is to help you find a surrogate. The best value they can give you is to find you a match quickly. Avoiding long wait times with a reputable agency can be the difference between finding a match in months or years and waiting longer to experience parenthood.
Thorough Screening: Being a surrogate isn’t easy. That’s why reputable agencies will screen any hopeful surrogates before they work with them to help ensure problems don’t arise later in the process. Matching with a surrogate who fails the clinic screening, could mean waiting longer to become a parent while having to spend more money to find another surrogate.
Financial Security:Everything doesn’t always go according to plan. Pitfalls are possible along the way. When you are looking for an agency to work with, financial protection is an excellent perk to protect your investment. Agencies that don’t offer this financial protection can mean additional costs for you if unexpected issues arise.

For another look at where your investment goes, check out this example breakdown of surrogacy costs and how they are allocated. The choices you make determine what your cost will look like

Service	Cost
Agency Fees	21%
Surrogate Compensation	35%
Screening and Matching	21%
Legal Costs	11%
Medical Costs	12%

Take the next step in your journey and start planning your surrogacy finances today. Contact us now to learn more about surrogacy costs.

Get the Support You Deserve

Surrogacy Financing FAQ

Is Surrogacy Possible if I Have Bad Credit?

Yes, surrogacy is possible if you have bad credit. Surrogacy loans for bad credit exist, but they may be harder to find or qualify depending on the circumstances of your situation.

How Do Payments Work for Surrogacy?

Payments for surrogacy depend on the professional you work with but they are usually broken down between 2-4 payments. These payments are typically due after activation, when a match is made and/or after medical and legal clearance.

Are There Financing Options for Surrogacy

Yes, there are a number of surrogacy financing options at your disposal. Some of these options include grants, loans, fundraising, work benefits, personal savings and more. Some of these options require you to meet certain eligibility requirements.