General
Because many factors determine the cost of surrogacy, it is difficult to provide an estimate that applies to all intended parents (IPs). The average cost of a surrogacy journey that is successful on the first embryo transfer and has no medical complications is about $120,000 (that includes medical costs, surrogate compensation, agency and lawyer fees). Your surrogacy arrangement may cost more or less, however, depending on your personal circumstances. For example, some intended parents may already have frozen embryos, while others will incur additional costs during the fertility treatment to create embryos. Some IPs need an egg or sperm donor, which is an additional expense.
At Heartland Surrogacy, our surrogates choose their compensation amount. We recommend a minimum base of $45,000, with additional compensation for surrogates who carry multiples or have served as a surrogate before. With the exception of our agency fees, the costs outlined in our fee schedule are estimates and can change based on the industry standards and the circumstances of your journey.
Our agency fee is $19,000 and due in installments throughout the journey.
You should work with an agency for the protection, experience, and support they can provide. The most important benefit of using an agency is the decreased risk for all parties. Agencies prescreen surrogates to make sure they are suitable for a journey and provide support and guidance to the surrogate every step of the way.
Few matches are equipped to navigate all of the details of a surrogacy journey on their own, which include the complex details of insurance coverage, communications with multiple medical providers, and decisions on lawyers, escrow, and court appearances. By working with an agency, you will have a team with the experience to deal with any complications that may arise.
Working with an agency will also give you the benefit of someone else managing the details of your arrangement and helping you through any decisions you need to make along the way. In short, an agency will provide you with peace of mind in what can be a lengthy and complex process.
As a small, dedicated team, we limit our client network to provide individualized services. Our goal is to get to know you and your surrogate well and be accessible to you anytime. Founded by a three-time gestational surrogate in Iowa, we are based on the values of family, health, and service. Our tailored approach to managing your journey means you will always have the care and support you need. We leverage our expertise to provide transparent, exceptional, and compassionate case management to you and your surrogate.
At Heartland Surrogacy, we are dedicated to matching you with a gestational surrogate that shares your dreams and goals. Our surrogates are healthy and have passed interviews, medical record reviews, home studies, and criminal background checks (this includes the surrogate’s partner, if applicable) to join our program. Further, we only accept applicants that demonstrate the organizational skills and personal devotion necessary to become a successful surrogate.
Absolutely! We celebrate diversity in parenthood and welcome all IPs, regardless of marital status, age, or sexual orientation.
There are a variety of factors that motivate someone to pursue surrogacy, but consistent with all is the desire to share the joy of parenthood with another individual or couple. Some surrogates may simply experience happiness from their own family and want to help provide the same for someone else. Perhaps a friend or family member needed assisted reproduction, and although they couldn’t help specifically, their story moved them to help someone else build a family. Many surrogates enjoy pregnancy, but feel their own family is complete. Some people pursue surrogacy because it is a meaningful way to help their own family financially without returning to the workforce. Regardless of the specific reasons, surrogacy requires much work, sacrifice, and devotion. We are proud to have a surrogate network ready for this endeavor.
Our Services
We know surrogacy is not on a 9-5 schedule for our clients, and neither is it for us. Through evening and weekend availability, we make ourselves accessible when you need us. We want to provide you with the support and help you need throughout this process. With a limited client network, we can be accessible to you any time you need us.
Our dedicated team is comprised of two founders, a program coordinator, and an advisory board. As agency president and co-founder, Brie leads the screening process for our surrogates and oversees case management. Monica is the vice president and co-founder; she manages the operations, finances, and marketing aspects of the agency. Amy, our Program Coordinator, executes most of the case management and manages relationships with medical providers.
Emails with our agency should have all three staff members as recipients. Because we each specialize in different aspects of the journey, this allows us to keep everyone in the loop.
Our agency fees are comparable to those of other small agencies, but our fee schedule is broken into installments that lower the upfront investment for intended parents.
Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis. We will consider your wait time for matching (if applicable), your preferences and goals for the journey, and the services rendered on your behalf. In the event that a screened surrogate candidate fails a psychological review, we will pay for the review of another candidate.
All funds for your journey are held in escrow, a closed account, by an independent third party such as an escrow company or attorney. The specific details of payments and expenses will depend on your contract, but generally our agency handles the surrogate’s expense reports and passes them on to the escrow manager. We will work with them to ensure that the surrogate is reimbursed and compensated on time. We can recommend attorneys and escrow management companies in our network, but you may choose another qualified escrow provider if you prefer.
Heartland Surrogacy is happy to work with the clinic of your choosing. For example, if you already have embryos frozen at a fertility clinic, your surrogate can travel there for screening and embryo transfer. If you do not have embryos available yet, we can work with any clinic you select, as long as they do not have an exclusive relationship with a different surrogacy agency. All costs associated with IVF, including screening, medical testing, medications, laboratory services, ultrasounds, and office visits, are in addition to the agency charges from Heartland Surrogacy. After pregnancy is confirmed, your surrogate will receive obstetric care from their regular provider.
In addition to working with Heartland Surrogacy, you will need to obtain services from other providers. You will need legal representation in the state where your surrogate resides. Your surrogate will need a separate attorney. You will also need escrow services for fund management, although many attorneys can perform this work for an additional fee. Depending on your surrogate, you may need an insurance broker for health, life, death, and/or short-term disability insurance. We can help you find experienced providers either in our network of preferred providers or within a particular area. We are also happy to work with any of your choosing so that you can stay within your budget and work with the providers of your choice, as long as they meet the qualifications necessary for the surrogacy process.
No. While we have an extensive network of preferred providers, we do not receive any financial incentives for referring you to them. If there is collaboration with another provider that will affect the price of your journey (fee sharing or shared discount), we will inform you of the details.
The Process
Heartland Surrogacy requires that all intended parents undergo a psychological consultation to determine your readiness for a surrogacy journey. This requirement is typical for any means of third party reproduction and will often be completed by your fertility clinic. If your clinic does not require an evaluation, we will help you locate a provider in your area. Our agency also conducts criminal background checks.
Our surrogates undergo a two-part screening. The first portion is completed by our agency and includes a medical records review, phone interviews, criminal background checks (including any other adults living in their household, if applicable), and a home visit. After matching, a psychological evaluation and thorough medical exam are completed according to the requirements of your fertility clinic. All of these measures combined allow us to assess your surrogate’s medical and emotional readiness to undergo a surrogacy journey.
Our agency typically has a short waitlist for intended parents, ranging from 3-6 months. The time it takes to match will vary depending on your personal circumstances and preferences, but we will work to match you as quickly as possible while doing our due diligence to ensure proper screening and preparation of our candidates.
At Heartland Surrogacy, creating great matches between surrogates and intended parents is one of our top priorities. We will help you find a gestational carrier that is appropriate for you by getting to know you, your goals and preferences, and your views on the various aspects of surrogacy. Matching through Heartland Surrogacy is a mutual decision made by intended parents and surrogates.
First, Heartland Surrogacy will review your profile and identify a surrogate who may be a good match, based on shared goals and characteristics. Then, your profile will be presented to this prescreened surrogate for review. You will then be given the GC profile to review and decide whether or not to move forward with the matching process.
One or more Heartland staff members will mediate the match meeting, which can take place in person or virtually. After the meeting, we will speak to each side independently to assess their comfort with the match. You are free to turn down the match and review another candidate at any point during the matching process.
It is essential for surrogates to have a health insurance policy that will cover the surrogate pregnancy. If the current policy will not cover the expenses, we require that you provide a new policy for your surrogate. We will help you identify and secure a plan that will cover the surrogacy pregnancy and delivery. You will be responsible for all costs associated with the new policy (premiums, deductible, coinsurance, and copays).
Journeys
Communication during and after the journey will vary, but our hope is that you and your surrogate will build a strong bond based on open communication and mutual respect. Some families become friends with their surrogate and form an ongoing relationship in which they regularly communicate and even visit each other. Other families exchange calls, letters, pictures, etc. a few times a year or at major milestones.
We specialize in open matches with strong communication and solid relationships. Our staff will mediate your first meeting (be it in person or over video call) and once matched, you and your surrogate are highly encouraged to maintain open communication. We would like contact to be as frequent as is comfortable for all parties.
You and your surrogate will decide on the number of embryo transfers you will attempt, and this will be recorded in your contract. If a pregnancy does not occur or continue, you will have the opportunity to decide if you would like to attempt another embryo transfer, in accordance with your contract. While a large percentage of your surrogacy budget needs to be available in escrow at the beginning of your journey, compensation to your surrogate is made in installments (based on time or steps in the journey). Provider expenses are paid as they are incurred, and our agency fees are paid at specific milestones in the journey. If pregnancy is not achieved or continued, you will not incur expenses pertaining to the rest of the journey.
If your chosen surrogate fails the psychological evaluation, Heartland Surrogacy will pay for the evaluation of a new surrogate. You will not incur any additional costs for rematching.
We charge a rematch fee of $5,000 if parents break a match for a non-medical reason.
Yes, this is possible and often preferred by all involved. You and your surrogate’s preferences will be detailed in your legal contract. Most surrogates will allow the IPs to be present for some or all of the birth experience.