Private surrogacy services

Surrogacy is carrying and giving birth to a baby for another person or couple who are unable to conceive or carry a child themselves. At HCA UK, we offer full surrogacy, also known as host or gestational surrogacy.

This uses an intended mother's own eggs or eggs from a donor. Embryos are created using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with sperm from a male partner or a sperm donor. An embryo is then transferred to the surrogate's womb.

You can choose either donated sperm or donated eggs to ensure a genetic connection to at least one parent. With full surrogacy, your baby will have a biological link to you or your partner, while the surrogate has no genetic connection.

There are many reasons why an individual or couple may consider surrogacy, such as:

• You've had several failed IVF treatment cycles (implantation failure)
• You've experienced several miscarriages
• You have a medical condition that makes carrying a pregnancy high-risk
• You weren't born with a womb or you've had surgery to remove your womb (a hysterectomy)
• You've had a premature menopause
• You are in a male, same-sex couple

Often, a friend or family member may act as a surrogate. It can be a good option to use someone that you know and trust. In the UK, there are certain legal restrictions that prevent fertility clinics from finding or organising surrogates.

This means you will need to organise this yourself. It's important that you get to know your surrogate and that, together, you put a surrogacy agreement in place. There are several organisations that can help find a surrogate and organise a surrogacy agreement you can find more information about this in our FAQ section.

The chance of surrogacy being successful depends on several different factors. These include:

• The age of the woman whose eggs are being used
• The quality of the sperm being used
• Your surrogate's ability to get pregnant
• The usual success rate of the treatment you're having

Your consultant will take the time to clearly explain the success rates of surrogacy, discuss any concerns and recommend a tailored treatment plan.

In the UK, the person who gives birth to a child (the surrogate) is automatically the legal parent. This is the case even if the child was created from your or your partner's eggs or sperm. But you can get a parental order to change this.

A parental order can make you and your partner the legal parents of the child. It's essential that one or both of you are genetically related to the child to become a legal parent.

Once you have a parental order in place, your surrogate will not have any legal rights regarding your child. This is a complex area, so it's essential that you get advice before you decide on surrogacy as an option.