Can I become a surrogate if I have a history of infertility?
Learn the answer to this week's user-submitted question about surrogacy in this week's installment of Ask a Surrogacy Expert! Have a question about surrogacy that you'd like answered? Submit it at https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ask
Surrogacy Eligibility with Infertility History
The key takeaway is that many women with infertility histories can still become gestational carriers, depending on the cause.
Surrogacy possible despite infertility causes
Infertility causes split roughly into thirds: one third female, one third male, one third unexplained.
If infertility was due to male factors, IVF embryos transferred to the woman can allow successful surrogacy.
Female infertility causes unrelated to the uterus often still allow for gestational carrier eligibility.
Unexplained infertility or recurrent pregnancy loss requires detailed review by a reproductive endocrinologist (REI) for a tailored opinion.
Personalized evaluation emphasized
Each case needs individual record review by an REI to assess surrogacy potential.
Jenn encourages never giving up and reaching out for a one-on-one conversation about personal circumstances.
The program expresses openness to discuss all cases to determine eligibility and support potential surrogates.
Have more questions about surrogacy?
Transcript:
Hey, everyone, it's Jenn with this week's Ask Question, which is, “Can I be a surrogate if I have a history of infertility?” And I think the answer may surprise some people. And the answer is, oftentimes, yes, there is a chance that you could still become a gestational carrier. It really depends why there was infertility. You have to remember that of the causes of infertility, why one third is the woman, one third is the man, one third is unexplained. So if, for example, you had male factor infertility, you had to go through IVF in order to create embryos and to transfer to yourself carried successfully, of course, that would not be a problem.
If there were things that were explainable that did not have to do with the uterus that was the cause of infertility, then there's a very good chance that you might be able to be. If it is unexplained infertility, you had recurrent pregnancy loss, things like that, and that there was no explanation, that one is a little more difficult. And we'd have to take a look at the records and have an REI look at the records to give their opinion on it. But I say always, never give up and it's always worth it. If it's on your heart to give back and give to others, please, absolutely, reach out. We're happy to have an individual conversation with every single person about what happened with them, their circumstances, and if it is possible to be a gestational carrier.