I want to be a surrogate for my sister

by Tracy
(Boise, ID)

My sister has had numerous attempts at ai and invitro nothing worked she's spent a lot of money, I would like to be her surrogate but it would have to be my egg, since the problem seems to be her eggs, that are preventing the pregnancy. How do we go about insurance coverage, I work and have coverage, and her job will not cover surrogatecy, do we seek out a short term insurance policy? Also, I will be 40 in a few months is that too old? And will I have to go through hormone shots, or anything like that, I am very fertile and have 5 of my own children...Thank you Tracy

Reply by Rayven
Hi Tracy,

What a wonderful sister you are! What you are describing is Traditional Surrogacy. You will go through AI (artificial insemination) with the sperm from your sister's partner/husband in order to become pregnant.

The insurance would actually be YOUR policy, from your present employer, unless surrogacy is excluded from your insurance plan. Look over your policy and make sure you check with your attorney. Yes, an attorney will need to be involved. You will need to sign your parental rights over to your sister, and it all has to go through the courts.

If you find that your current insurance does indeed exclude surrogacy (some, though not most, do) then yes, you will need to find an insurance policy through another party. Unfortunately, these tend to either be very expensive, or carry very high deductibles.

Hormones are on a case-by-case basis; you'll need to check with your doctor and your clinic. As to your age, well, that is a little tricky. Make an appointment and sit down with your OB/GYN to ask about your increased risks of birth defects such as downs syndrome due to your age.

You may decide that the best option would be to go for a gestational surrogacy with donor eggs instead. Your age would not be an issue with a gestational surrogacy.

Best wishes!