American Reproductive Centers:
Building Your Family Through Gestational Surrogacy
American Reproductive Centers provides gestational surrogacy in California for individuals and couples who need medical support to build their family through a gestational carrier. This process involves creating embryos through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and transferring an embryo into the uterus of a surrogate who carries the pregnancy but has no genetic connection to the baby.
ARC manages the full medical portion of the surrogacy process, including ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, fertilization, embryo development, embryo transfer to the gestational carrier, and pregnancy monitoring through the first trimester.
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry a pregnancy for another couple: same-sex or heterosexual couples. A popular option for helping people with fertility issues start or grow their families. This can be one of ARC screened Surrogates, or family member, friend, or volunteers. Surrogates – carry and deliver babies for infertile couples. Surrogacy can prove an effective and straightforward solution for couples that need third-party assistance for their family planning goals.
Important Considerations for Choosing Surrogacy:
- Financial planning: Understand the full cost of surrogacy, including medical care, legal fees, agency services, compensation, insurance, and unexpected expenses.
- Genetic choices: Decide whether you will use your own egg and sperm or work with an egg, sperm, or embryo donor, based on medical needs and personal preferences.
- Surrogate relationship: Consider how involved you want to be during the pregnancy, including communication, appointments, and birth planning.
- Legal requirements: Be aware of state-specific surrogacy laws and the importance of having clear legal agreements in place before the process begins.
- Emotional readiness: Prepare for the emotional aspects of surrogacy, including trust, expectations, and navigating a journey that looks different from traditional pregnancy.
For detailed answers to common questions, visit our Surrogacy FAQ.
How Surrogacy Works: The Medical Process at ARC
Step 1: Consultation and Creating Your Embryos
You will meet with Dr. Abdallah to discuss your family-building goals and create a personalized plan. If you are using your own eggs, you will undergo an IVF stimulation cycle and egg retrieval. If you are using an egg donor, she will complete this process.
The eggs are fertilized with sperm in our laboratory. The resulting embryos are cultured to the blastocyst stage and typically tested with PGT-A to confirm they are chromosomally normal. Healthy embryos are then cryopreserved (frozen) until you are ready for transfer.
Step 2: Finding Your Gestational Carrier and Completing Legal Agreements
You will work with a surrogacy agency to find and match with a gestational carrier. The agency handles recruitment, initial screening, and matching based on your preferences and values.
Once you and your carrier are matched, you will each work with separate reproductive law attorneys. These attorneys will draft and finalize a legal agreement that outlines everyone’s rights, responsibilities, and expectations. This legal step is required before any medical procedures can begin.
Step 3: Medical and Psychological Screening
After the legal agreement is signed, your gestational carrier will come to American Reproductive Centers for comprehensive medical screening.
We perform a physical exam, blood tests, infectious disease screening, and a uterine evaluation to confirm she is healthy and capable of carrying a pregnancy. She will also undergo psychological screening to ensure she is emotionally prepared for the surrogacy journey.
Step 4: The Embryo Transfer Cycle
Once your carrier is medically cleared, we prepare her uterus for embryo transfer. She will take medications (estrogen and progesterone) to build a thick, receptive uterine lining. We monitor her with ultrasounds and blood tests to confirm the lining is ready.
On transfer day, we thaw one carefully selected, genetically tested embryo. The transfer is a quick, painless procedure. A thin catheter containing the embryo is gently placed through the cervix into the uterus. The entire process takes just a few minutes.
Step 5: Pregnancy Monitoring and Transition to OB Care
About 9 to 10 days after the transfer, your carrier will have a blood test to check for pregnancy. If the test is positive, we will monitor her closely with additional blood tests and ultrasounds through the first 8 to 10 weeks of pregnancy. We track hormone levels, confirm the heartbeat, and ensure the pregnancy is developing normally.
Once we see a strong heartbeat and confirm the pregnancy is progressing well, your carrier graduates from our care. She will continue her prenatal care with her regular obstetrician.
Who Benefits From Gestational Surrogacy
Gay Male Couples
Surrogacy is the most common pathway for two-dad families to have a biological child. You will use an egg donor to create embryos, and a gestational carrier will carry the pregnancy. One or both partners can contribute sperm.
Women with Medical Conditions That Make Pregnancy Dangerous
Some health conditions make pregnancy life-threatening. These include serious heart disease, severe kidney disease, uncontrolled diabetes, or certain autoimmune conditions. If pregnancy puts your life at risk, surrogacy allows you to have a biological child safely.
Women with Uterine Factor Infertility
Some women are born without a uterus (a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome). Others have had a hysterectomy due to cancer, severe bleeding, or other medical reasons. If you do not have a uterus or your uterus is severely damaged and cannot support a pregnancy, surrogacy is your path to biological parenthood.
Recurrent Implantation Failure
If you have had multiple IVF cycles with high-quality embryos that did not implant, the problem may be with your uterine environment rather than the embryos themselves. Transferring those same embryos to a gestational carrier with a healthy uterus may result in a successful pregnancy.
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
If you have experienced multiple miscarriages and testing suggests uterine abnormalities are the cause, surrogacy can help you achieve a healthy pregnancy and live birth.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
California Has Strong Surrogacy Laws
California is one of the most surrogacy-friendly states in the country. The laws are well-established and protect the rights of intended parents, gestational carriers, and children born through surrogacy.
Pre-birth orders are routinely granted, allowing intended parents to be listed on the birth certificate from the moment of birth. This legal clarity is one reason many families choose to pursue surrogacy in California.
You Need Experienced Reproductive Law Attorneys
Working with attorneys who specialize in reproductive law is essential. Each party (you and your gestational carrier) must have separate legal representation to ensure everyone’s rights are protected.
Your attorney will draft a gestational surrogacy agreement that covers medical decisions, compensation, communication expectations, and parental rights. This agreement must be finalized before any medical procedures begin.
ARC Provides Medical Expertise, Not Legal Advice
Our role is strictly medical. We do not provide legal advice or draft contracts. However, we can refer you to qualified reproductive law attorneys who have extensive experience with surrogacy cases.
We also work closely with your legal team to ensure all medical procedures are performed only after proper legal clearances are in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the surrogate have any genetic relationship to the baby?
No. In gestational surrogacy, the embryo is created using the intended parents’ genetics or donor eggs and sperm. The carrier has no genetic link to the child. She provides a healthy uterine environment for the pregnancy. This is why gestational surrogacy has replaced traditional surrogacy.
What makes someone a good candidate to be a surrogate?
A good gestational carrier is a healthy woman between 21 and 45 with at least one full-term pregnancy of her own. She must pass medical, infectious disease, and psychological screening. Candidates are non-smokers, maintain a healthy weight, and have strong social support. Most carriers are highly motivated and committed to helping another family.
How do we find a gestational carrier?
You’ll work with a licensed surrogacy agency that recruits, screens, and matches intended parents with qualified gestational carriers. They manage background checks, medical pre-screening, psychological evaluations, and introduce you to candidates who fit your preferences. You can also use a known carrier, but she must complete the same medical and psychological screening.
What are the success rates for surrogacy?
Success rates are high because gestational carriers are medically screened and have proven healthy pregnancies. When transferring a PGT-A tested embryo, live birth rates often range from 60 to 70 percent per transfer. Your specific success rate depends on embryo quality and medical history.
How long does the surrogacy process take?
Most journeys take 12 to 18 months from agency match to delivery. Matching, legal contracts, and medical screening usually take 3 to 6 months before the embryo transfer. If the first transfer is successful, pregnancy lasts the typical 9 months.
What happens if the first embryo transfer doesn’t result in pregnancy?
If the first transfer fails, we review the cycle and plan the next steps. If you have additional frozen embryos, we can prepare for another transfer. Many families succeed within two to three attempts. Agencies and legal contracts typically include this possibility.
Ready to Explore Surrogacy?
Surrogacy is a powerful way to build your family when carrying a pregnancy yourself is not possible. At American Reproductive Centers, we provide the medical expertise, advanced laboratory technology, and compassionate care you need throughout this journey.
Whether you are just beginning to explore surrogacy or are ready to move forward, our team is here to guide you through every step of the process.
Where Success is Measured in Heartbeats!
Our Locations:
1180 N Indian Canyon Dr. Suites 301/303, Palm Springs, CA 92262
1-760-346-4334
255 Terracina Blvd. – Suite 202, Redlands, CA 92373
1-760-346-4334
(An ARC affiliate)
330 S Magnolia Ave suite 201, El Cajon, CA 92020
1-619-768-1110