Screening Surrogates

Setting up surrogate facilities in low cost countries

Surrogacy

Selecting and screening egg/sperm donors

Donor Recruitment

This option is usually arranged through established egg/sperm donation programs. Existing European programs must be drastically increased to facilitate large-scale programs. Women in IVF programs may forward their excess eggs to other surrogates. One donor should however not donate more than 100 eggs/sperm doses to avoid potential future inbreeding effects. This number may be adjusted based on distribution area. All donors will be compensated financially for their expenses, time, risk, and inconvenience associated with the process.

All egg and sperm donors must be screened according to high pre-defined standards including genetic diseases. Optimally, the donors should score high in interpersonal, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, intrapersonal and visual-spatial intelligence tests[2] and be of the indigenous group (French genotype in France, Italian in Italy, Nordic in Scandinavia etc.).

A surrogate is a woman who carries a pregnancy for another woman. The first surrogate pregnancy occurred in the United States in 1985. Gestational carrier refers to a woman who carries a pregnancy created by the egg and sperm of two other individuals. This process involves IVF. In this case, the gestational carrier is not genetically related to the child.

Anonymous surrogates can be arranged through existing surrogate programs such as f example the Organisation of Parents Through Surrogacy (OPTS). However, considering the potentially large scale of this project, dedicated surrogate facilities should be created in select low cost countries. Surrogates will be anonymous and are compensated for their services according to market rates.

Surrogacy guidelines are not as well established as they are for donor sperm and donor eggs. The ideal surrogate is relatively young, has previously carried a pregnancy without complications, and does not have any habits, such as smoking, alcohol, or illicit drug use, risky sexual behaviour, or medical disorders such as diabetes or Rh sensitisation, that could jeopardise the health of the fetus. A complete medical history and physical exam should be performed as well as screening for infectious diseases. An evaluation of the surrogate's uterus may also be recommended, and psychological evaluation is strongly recommended.

Surrogacy programs vary in the amount of information given about the surrogate. Some programs offer the couple the opportunity to select and interact with the surrogate, while other programs maintain the confidentiality of the surrogate.

As with donor egg programs, the procedure for a gestational carrier involves IVF. As noted in the section on donor eggs, the gestational carrier may be given hormones to prepare her uterus for embryo transfer. The embryos from the infertile couple will then be transferred to the carrier's uterus. For traditional surrogacy, the surrogate is inseminated with the male partner's sperm via ICI or IUI near the time of ovulation. IVF is not necessary for traditional surrogacy. The success rates for gestational or traditional surrogacy can vary depending on male and female fertility factors.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-31