Being a Surrogate for a Friend [A Complete Guide]

Why Working with the Right Agency is Important  

When considering being a surrogate for a friend, it’s important to recognize how surrogacy can impact your already established relationship. By working with the right surrogacy agency, you can safely experience the life-changing journey of surrogacy together while making sure your friendship grows stronger.  

Being a surrogate for a friend is not only heroic, but it’s doing something extraordinary for a special person in your life that cannot physically or biologically carry a child themselves.  

The gift of surrogacy cannot be understated. When it comes to being a gestational surrogate for a friend or a traditional surrogate for a friend, there are impactful emotions and aspects of the process that can affect your relationship.  

Before you continue with this complete guide to being a surrogate for a friend, you can always get in touch with a trusted and experienced surrogacy professional by completing this online form. There, you will get connected and get your important surrogacy questions answered.  

Now, let’s dive deeper into surrogacy for a friend.  

Traditional Surrogacy vs. Gestational Surrogacy [The Differences Matter]  

Before considering being a surrogate for a friend, it’s essential to know the differences between traditional surrogacy for a friend and gestational surrogacy for a friend.   

So, what are the differences?  

Traditional Surrogacy  

Traditional surrogacy involves artificial insemination. Because this type of surrogacy would make you the child’s biological mother, it creates the potential for complex challenges with the intended parent. In this case, with the intended parent being a close friend, traditional surrogacy could negatively impact your relationship and create parental rights issues. In fact, because of the increased legal and emotional risks associated with traditional surrogacy, many states do not permit it and most professionals will not work with traditional surrogates. 

You can get more information on being a traditional surrogate for a friend and the potential impacts on your relationship by completing this form. A surrogacy specialist is ready to answer all of your important questions.  

Gestational Surrogacy  

More commonly, and in fact, the only type of surrogacy most reputable agencies will take on is gestational surrogacy.  

In this case, being a gestational surrogate for a friend would remove any genetic link between you and the child. The benefit of your friend being the sole parent, even when using donated eggs or sperm to create an embryo, means you can avoid any potential parental rights issues.  

Whether your friend is single, a member of the LGBTQ community or in a relationship and experiencing infertility, gestational surrogacy is a way for you to carry a baby to term and give your friend the life-changing gift of becoming a parent.  

Want more information on being a gestational surrogate for a friend? Remember to complete this online form to get connected to a surrogacy specialist. Not only can you get your immediate questions answered, but you can also find out how to begin the early screening process to determine your eligibility for surrogacy for a friend.  

How Does Surrogacy for a Friend Work?  

Surrogacy is a long process. You’ll need to be prepared to commit about one year of your time. As a surrogate, you will go through a detailed and lengthy screening process to determine your eligibility.  

Before the screening process takes place, you first must decide, “Should I be a surrogate for my friend?” Ultimately, that decision is up to you, and no one can force you to make it. Doing your research and speaking with a professional will help you make a more informed decision.   

If you’ve decided you’re ready to give a friend this life-changing gift, you both will then contact a surrogacy agency and attorney to begin forming your surrogacy contract.  

What is a Surrogacy Contract?  

Because of the legal, medical, emotional and financial complexities of surrogacy, you must sign a legal contract.  

Your contract will include agreements on expectations for your surrogacy journey, financial compensation and covering the risks of gestational surrogacy.  

In many cases, women choosing surrogacy with a friend decline financial compensation for doing so. While the sentiment is nice, the reality is denying any financial compensation for being a surrogate for a friend can create complex challenges for your relationship.  

By not accepting an agreed-upon compensation, your friend may forever feel indebted to you. You may also feel like you’re sacrificing more than your friend and risk creating resentment in your relationship.   

Experienced surrogacy agencies and professionals will strongly encourage some agreement on financial compensation beyond reimbursement for pregnancy-and-surrogacy-related expenses.  

How Does the Screening Process Work?  

As we touched briefly explained earlier, the screening process for prospective surrogates is lengthy, but for a good reason. 

  Those requirements include:  

• Being at least 21 years of age  
• Having a healthy BMI  
• Having had at least one successful birth without complications  
• No significant complications with any previous pregnancies  
• No tattoos or piercing within the previous 12 months  

• No usage of anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication within the last 12 months  
• Currently raising at least one child in your home  
• No untreated addiction, abuse, depression, eating disorders or traumatic experiences with pregnancy, labor or delivery  
• A complete understanding of the commitments of surrogacy, the medical risk and the emotional experience 
• And more  

As you can see, the screening process is in-depth. It’s vital to ensure you are a completely qualified candidate so that your journey of surrogacy for a friend is safe, healthy, ethical and results in a beautiful and life-changing experience.  

Remember, you can always get in touch with a surrogacy specialist online to get more information on surrogacy, the screening process and why you need to sign a legal contract.  

How Will Being a Surrogate for My Best Friend, Affect Our Relationship?  

The complex emotions of surrogacy, as well as the legal aspect of creating a surrogacy contact, will likely change your relationship moving forward.  

Those changes can be positive when you choose to work with an experienced surrogacy agency.  

Your heroic decision to give your friend a chance at parenthood is an extraordinary gift.   

Wouldn’t you also want to grow your friendship and connection in a positive way?  

That’s where your agency and surrogacy professional come in.  

How Does a Surrogacy Agency Help?  

Because your friendship is important and is about to change forever, a surrogacy agency and professional can help create healthy boundaries and common ground between you to ensure the experience is positive.  

Whether it’s discussing complex emotions, helping you work with your surrogacy attorney or helping navigate the financial aspect of your surrogacy journey, the right agency and professional can give you the experience you deserve.  

Here are just some of the many benefits to working with a surrogacy agency:  

• Your agency manages every aspect of your surrogacy journey  
• You can have peace of mind knowing you’re working with experienced professionals  

• You get education and support every step of the way  
• You get to create a personalized surrogacy plan  
• You get connected with trusted attorneys and medical professionals who have experience with surrogacy in your state 
• Your agency and professional will coordinate with the fertility clinic to help get all appointments and medications  
• Working with a surrogacy agency is completely free for surrogates 

• And more  

If you’re asking, “Should I be a surrogate for my friend?” hopefully, this guide has helped educate you on how surrogacy works and how your heroic decision can positively impact and change your friendship forever.  

You can reach out to a surrogacy professional for more information online. Your questions are important, and an experienced professional is ready to provide you everything you need to get your journey of being a surrogate for a friend started today!  

Surrogacy with a Friend Not Right for You? Consider Another Intended Parent  

If you’ve decided being a surrogate with a friend isn’t right for you, consider choosing a different intended parent.  

You’ve decided you’re willing to give another person the incredible gift of parenthood through gestational surrogacy. In this case, a surrogacy agency can provide you with amazing intended parents hopeful for the chance to match with a heroic surrogate like you.  

The screening process doesn’t change, and you’ll have the chance to develop a relationship and bond with a special individual or couple throughout your surrogacy journey and beyond.  

If being a gestational surrogate for a friend isn’t something you’re ready for and you want to find another intended parent, filling out this form will get you connected to a surrogacy agency that can help.   

A wonderful intended family is just a click away!