Gestational carriers
Who may use a gestational carrier, how carriers are selected and screened, and what happens during a gestational carrier cycle.
On this page
A gestational carrier is a woman who carries a pregnancy for another person or couple, using an embryo created from the intended parents’ or donors’ eggs and sperm. The process has many details, and each one needs careful attention.
Who may use a gestational carrier
Intended parents consider a gestational carrier in many situations. In any of them, the parents’ own eggs and sperm or donor eggs and sperm can be used.
- A single man, using an egg donor and a gestational carrier
- Two men in a same-sex relationship, using an egg donor and a gestational carrier
- Women with repeated late miscarriages or repeated early preterm deliveries
- Women who don’t have a uterus, because of a congenital condition or because it was removed for a benign or malignant disease, such as endometrial cancer
- Women who can’t or don’t want to carry a pregnancy because of a medical condition, such as heart disease, severe kidney disease or breast cancer
Selecting a gestational carrier
A gestational carrier is usually:
- Younger than 40
- Someone who has delivered her own babies before
- In good health, with no medical reason to avoid pregnancy
- Free of abnormalities in her uterus, especially the uterine cavity
- In a stable social situation and not at high risk for infectious diseases
The carrier usually delivers in her home state, which must allow gestational carrier arrangements.
Screening and agreements
The carrier
The carrier is screened for infectious diseases and has the other preconception labs, apart from genetic screening. She also has a psychological evaluation and a saline sonogram to check the uterine cavity.
The intended parents
Both intended parents, or their donors, are screened according to FDA and state guidelines to reduce the risk of disease transmission. Intended parents also have genetic screening.
Coming to an agreement
The carrier and the intended parents meet and discuss the number of embryos to transfer, whether fetal reduction would be acceptable and any other issues that matter to either side. A reproductive lawyer then drafts a contract between the two parties.
The gestational carrier cycle
- After the initial testing and evaluation, the intended mother or egg donor has ovarian stimulation.
- Eggs are retrieved and fertilized with the intended father’s sperm or donor sperm.
- Embryos are frozen, or transferred fresh to a carrier whose cycle has been synchronized.
- The carrier takes estrogen and progesterone to prepare the lining of her uterus, and fresh or thawed embryos are transferred.
- If she becomes pregnant, she receives regular obstetric care.
At or after delivery, the reproductive attorney is responsible for registering the intended parents on the child’s birth certificate.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Every situation is different, so talk with your doctor about yours.
