Surrogacy through a surrogate mother is an assisted reproduction technique that implants the embryo created with the genetic material of the intended parent(s) in the uterus of a surrogate mother. She gestates a baby when the biological parents are unable to carry out the pregnancy.
Surrogacy is legal and regulated in many countries around the world. Thanks to surrogacy, many couples with fertility problems or homosexual or transsexual couples have managed to become parents.
Surrogate or gestational mother is the person who carries the pregnancy to term in her womb and gestate the baby when the biological parents are unable to carry the pregnancy to term.
If we want to resort to this method, we have to go to a country where there is a regulation, to ensure that we can take our baby home There are more and more countries that allow surrogacy, such as Greece, the United States, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia, Colombia etc.
Every year, hundreds of couples, or single people, turn to surrogacy to make their life's dream come true: to become parents.
With more than 2600 satisfied parents, we have the philosophy that "it can always be done better." At GESTLIFE we are more than 180 professionals of surrogacy with offices and own staff abroad, to give you the service and guarantees that you deserve.
At GESTLIFE we work with all the countries where surrogacy is legal and the processes can be carried out with full guarantees. Given the extent of the information, we advise you to contact one of our family advisors and without any obligation. We will be happy to analyze your particular case and to advise you on the destination that best suits your needs.
Traditional Surrogacy, Gestational Surrogacy, Altruistic Surrogacy and Commercial Surrogacy
Traditional gestational surrogacy and gestational surrogacy
In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother provides her egg, i.e. she is the biological mother of the baby. The surrogate mother is inseminated, by IVF or artificial insemination, with the sperm of the intended father.
Traditional surrogacy is not an option that we recommend at Gestlife, because it can cause legal problems, including the non-recognition of the paternity of the intended parent.
In gestational surrogacy, the genetic material used for in vitro fertilization never belongs to the intended parent(s.)
If one of the intended parents is unable to provide their genetic material, a donor is used. But in no case in gestational surrogacy, does the surrogate mother have any genetic link with the baby. In this type of surrogacy, therefore, artificial insemination cannot be used.
Gestational surrogacy is the most recommended type of surrogacy. Many of the countries with laws regulating surrogacy allow only this type of surrogacy.
In many countries, such as Greece, altruistic surrogacy is practiced, where the surrogate mother receives no or very little financial compensation beyond medical expenses. This type of surrogacy is much more common among family members or friends. Countries with laws regulating altruistic surrogacy often provide that the surrogate mother may also receive financial compensation for her trouble, but they set a limit.
In an altruistic surrogacy there are no mediators, so you will have to deal with any legal problems on your own. Moreover, this also means that in the case of this type of surrogacy, there are no mediators to guarantee that there are no medical problems, such as infectious or genetic diseases of the donor or surrogate.
In the case of commercial surrogacy, the surrogate mother receives financial compensation.
This sum of money given to the surrogate mother in a surrogacy is intended to cover medical expenses and those derived from the gestation such as maternity clothes, or sick leave. In general, the inconveniences derived from the process.
In a commercial surrogacy process, it is important to have a serious agency, which ensures that the surrogate mother does not agree to surrogacy out of financial desperation. In addition, the surrogacy agency must ensure the surrogate mother's wellbeing throughout the surrogacy process.
In a commercial surrogacy, we have the option of having qualified professionals to avoid legal and medical problems. However, it is essential that your surrogacy agency has several lawyers on staff, who are familiar with the surrogacy process where you live and in the country where it is performed.
Intended parents are parents who are unable to become parents in any other way and turn to surrogacy as a solution.
Often, in the case of heterosexual couples, intended parents resort to surrogacy after several attempts at in vitro fertilization, or other fertility treatments.
In a surrogacy process, maternity leave is closely connected to childbirth. In order to obtain maternity leave, a mother has to submit a medical report stating that she has carried the pregnancy and that she has given birth. In cases of gestational surrogacy, that is impossible to obtain such a medical report as the pregnancy was carried out through a surrogate.
In a surrogacy process in countries such as Greece or the United States (Florida,) the intended mother is the legal mother of the child immediately in the country of birth.
Surrogacy is an assisted reproduction technique. In order to achieve a surrogate pregnancy, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is used, except in cases of partial surrogacy where other techniques such as artificial insemination are used. But as we have already clarified in the section on "types of surrogacy," this type of surrogacy is not recommended and is prohibited in many of the countries where surrogacy is legal.
During in vitro fertilization treatment, eggs are removed from the intended mother, or from an anonymous donor, and inseminated "in vitro in a test tube, using a technique called ICSI with the sperm of the intended father or donor. This insemination results in one or more embryos. These embryos must be "matured" for five days before being implanted in the surrogate in order to have a better chance of success. In addition, no more than three embryos should ever be implanted for the health of both the pregnant woman and the future baby.
During in vitro fertilization treatment, eggs are removed from the intended parent’s ovaries and placed in vitro (in a platelet, which is where the word "vitro" comes from.) The egg is then fertilized by sperm in a laboratory by inserting a sperm into each egg with a glass needle to ensure success. The egg fertilized by the sperm is called an embryo and is implanted into the pregnant woman's uterus, where it is expected to develop into a healthy gestational surrogacy pregnancy.
ICSI is recommended for couples in which the man has a low sperm count or low sperm motility, which makes it less likely that the sperm will fertilize the egg on their own. Artificial insemination is therefore not recommended.
More than 2600 satisfied parents
Clients who have successfully started and completed the surrogacy process.
| SERVICES AND GUARANTEES | GestLife | Other |
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Is it a law firm with liability insurance that can be claimed in case of non-compliance, and not just an "agency"? |
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Do they comply with all the measures for the protection of your data as set out Data Protection Regulations? |
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Do you identify your details on their website: company name, address, government tax ID number, commercial register, so that you know who you are working with? |
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Do they offer you 10 countries where you can carry out your process, with 14 offices of their own, without intermediaries? |
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Do they guarantee that the whole process will be multilingual, not only the part where they inform you but that when you are in country of surrogacy with the company's employees? |
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Are the contracts offered to you in your language? |
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Do they have their own offices dedicated exclusively to surrogacy (as well as your private apartment)? |
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Are you accompanied by a professional who speaks your language during your stay in the foreign country, and who takes care of all administrative formalities on your behalf?
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Will a lawyer accompany you to the Consulate in your country to do all the paperwork? |
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Do they have their own office in the foreign country where the program takes place? |
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Do you stay in individual apartments, without sharing with other parents? |
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Does a pediatrician visit your child, while staying with you in the apartment every day to check on his or her health until you return to your country? |
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Do you have a (real) on-call service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year during your stay in that foreign country? |
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Does your program include the freezing of your child's umbilical cord and stem cells to prevent future diseases, with the maintenance fee paid for 20 years? |
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| Do you have a mobile application that allows you to know the status of your surrogate mother at all times? |
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Do they make it easier for you to have a relationship (if you wish) with the surrogate mother? |
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After your first visit, are you offered the possibility to contact parents who have already gone through a surrogacy process so that they can explain their experience to you? |
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Do they have more than 180 employees dedicated exclusively to surrogacy? |
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Do you have awards from recognized institutions for your prestige in the field of surrogacy? |
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Do they work with all countries where surrogacy is legal (not being forced to sell a destination at any price because they have no other)? |
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Can you access your file from your computer or mobile phone from anywhere and know the status of your case? |
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Do they have more than 500 parents a year who achieve their goal, with a 100% success rate? |
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Have they had more than 1600 children to date? |
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Does the Association of Parents for Surrogacy, with more than 700 parents affiliated endorse the "agency"? |
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Do they offer preparatory courses for new parents and for when you have your baby at home? |
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Are you provided with a gift basket with everything you need to take care of your child in the country of destination? |
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Do they have their own programs of they act as mere intermediaries? |
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Do you have a published code of ethics that obliges all company staff to practice ethical surrogacy with surrogate mothers? |
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Are they the "agency" that best accommodates the surrogate mother, thus avoiding exploitation of the surrogate mother? |
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Do you have special programs for the care of surrogate mothers so that they are guaranteed human ethical treatment and are assisted in the surrogacy? |
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Does the program include compensation to the surrogate mother's family in case of death? |
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Does the program include compensation to the egg donor in case she loses an organ as a result of the process? |
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In case of death of the baby after birth, does the program include the guarantee of a free restart of another program identical to the one you signed up for two years? |
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IF YOU ARE A SURROGERY AGENCY:
If you are a surrogacy agency mentioned in the above table, and any of the information in the table does not match the reality, you can request rectification by sending an email to this email address..
Through these words, we want to transmit our greatest joy to all those who are thinking of carrying out a gestational surrogacy procedure. ; It is undoubtedly the best thing you can do in this life and although on many occasions it seems very distant and difficult, it will be fulfilled and you finally enjoy the family you have always wanted.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the GESTLIFE team, without them this would not have been possible. Thank you for giving us confidence, thank you for comforting us in moments of sadness, thank you for the strength in moments of weakness, thank you for all the necessary support in technical matters, thank you for giving us the attention we needed, thank you for solving all the problems that arose in our procedure, thank you for continuing by our side 2 months after the end of our journey thank you for helping us to fulfill our dream.
Yes, we have paid for our surrogacy procedure, like everyone else, but what you have offered us during all this time cannot be paid for. Although it may be insignificant, our letter of thanks is part of many more, and with them, all those who work there will achieve the dream for many more people.
It has been twelve years since we started a struggle that ended this week. It is with great pleasure that we can write that we have reached our goal thanks to surrogacy and with a double trophy.
10 years of tests, treatments, over-stimulations… all for nothing. Many times you think that they (the doctors) know that you will never make it, but there you are, suffering and keeping a hope that hurts.
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Fatherhood changed our lives. There was a before, and an after. And the after, it was much better. So neither short nor lazy, we started this subject years ago of making the unreal real, the impossible possible. Today we are more than 100 people in 7 countries.
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