If your family is considering surrogacy as your path towards parenthood, you likely have many questions about the process. Many intended parents come to us with questions and concerns surrounding IVF & surrogacy success rates. We have the answers, experience, and support you need to move forward with this life-changing and exciting journey.

What is the Typical Surrogacy Embryo Transfer Success Rate?

Many families who cannot conceive a child on their own choose to build their family through surrogacy. This form of fertility treatment involves a third-party (called a surrogate,) who gives birth to another family’s child. This child will have no genetic ties to the surrogate. Typically, the embryo is transferred to the surrogate through a procedure similar to IVF, with the sperm and egg of the intended parents or donors, depending on circumstances.

The surrogacy process is a rather involved one. Parents must carefully choose a surrogate (and potentially, sperm or egg donors) who they trust and get along with well. From there, there is a long road of preparation before the embryo transfer can happen. You can expect a full legal drafting process and extensive screening for your surrogate before implantation can happen.

After your surrogate undergoes her embryo transfer, there will be a two week waiting period before she can take a beta blood test to confirm pregnancy. She’ll then schedule her first ultrasound and confirm the fetal heartbeat.

Given the emotional and financial investments this process involves, many families are anxious to hear about the “average” success rate of surrogacy. We understand this concern—and we wish it was as straightforward as just citing a statistic. While surrogacy is a well-regarded and highly successful form of fertility, there is not a blanket success rate number. As with traditional IVF,  a surrogacy cycle’s success will depend on a variety of unique factors.

At Extraordinary Conceptions, we want to give full reassurance to the families who come to us for support. That’s why we are proud to be one of the few surrogacy agencies who do not charge intended parents an application fee. It is also 100% free for potential intended parents to register with us and view our database, so you can be fully informed before making any big decisions. It is our hope that these “touches” help families feel safe and secure with us before embarking on such an important life journey.

What Factors Affect Surrogacy Success Rates?

As we mentioned previously, your family’s surrogacy success rates will depend on several unique factors. These factors may include:

The Eggs

Surrogate arrangements will either use eggs retrieved from the Intended Mother, or a third-party donor. In general, eggs retrieved from younger women have a higher chance of success of leading to a live birth than eggs from someone older. This is why most fertility agencies have a strict age limit on their egg donors— only women aged 18-29 are eligible.

If your family is considering working with an egg donor as well as a surrogate, it’s helpful to remember that age is not the only factor which determines eligibility. Your egg donor will be thoroughly screened for her physical and psychological health before any egg retrieval procedure can take place.

Your Surrogate

Much of the success of your embryo transfer leading to a live birth will depend on your surrogate’s ability to become pregnant. While there are several requirements in place to help ensure that surrogates can indeed become pregnant, like age limits and previous healthy pregnancies, this is still something which cannot always be predicted.

The Sperm

Surrogate arrangements either use sperm from the Intended Father, or from a donor. The quality of the sperm used will have an affect on the likelihood of the procedure’s success. There are home testing and analysis kits if you are unsure whether your sperm count will be high enough for this procedure, or whether it’s better to work with a donor.

At Extraordinary Conceptions, Your Dreams Can Come True

At Extraordinary Conceptions, we’ve been in your shoes—and we know how daunting the surrogacy process can seem from the outside. We promise to help take away some of those worries by promising you full support as you embark on your surrogacy journey—and offering all the reassurance you need through our years of experience and success.

If you want to learn more about what we offer families at Extraordinary Conceptions, get in touch with our team today. We are honored to be a part of your family’s story.