How can we help?
Book a consultation to meet one of our Aria consultants.
At this first visit you will have a consultation with one of our medical consultants who will review your general health, medical history, make recommendations regarding any further tests which are relevant based on the information you have provided about your medical history.
Once we have a clear understanding of your reproductive health, we will be able to advise you on the most appropriate treatment options available.
Treatment options for gay couples.
There are two different treatment pathways to surrogacy treatment.
- Straight Surrogacy
- Host Surrogacy
Some male couples may have already found a surrogate and agreed a straight surrogacy arrangement with them. This is when the surrogate’s eggs are used and the intended parent provides a sperm sample to fertilise the eggs through insemination (IUI) or IVF.
Alternatively, and more commonly, a host surrogacy arrangement requires the intended parents to provide an embryo created through IVF using donor eggs, which is then transferred back to the surrogate mother for a pregnancy to hopefully develop and the surrogate to care for the pregnancy until the baby arrives.
IVF treatment with donor eggs.
Normally the first step in the treatment pathway for male couples is to create embryos using donor eggs and the sperm from either one or both of the intended parents. Once you have been matched with an egg donor you can start the IVF process to create your embryos. Having created your embryos these can remain cryopreserved (for up to 10 years) until you have found your surrogate for these to be returned back into.
Finding a surrogate.
Finding a surrogate and forming a partnership you all feel comfortable with can be a long process. At Aria, we are unable to help you find a surrogate however we can put you in contact with surrogacy agencies who will be able to assist you with this process.
My Surrogacy Journey
Surrogacy UK
Brilliant Beginnings
Once you have found a surrogate, we will then meet and assess their suitability to carry a pregnancy ensuring this will be a safe process for you all.
Counselling.
Intended parents and surrogates must partake in counselling sessions with our qualified fertility counsellor both separately and then together. It is important that everyone involved in the treatment understands the implications of the surrogacy arrangement before continuing with any treatment.
Legal Advice.
Surrogacy treatments can pose certain legal challenges and it is very important that you seek specialist legal parenthood advice before embarking on a surrogacy arrangement.
It is important that you are aware that the law in the UK is such that the surrogate is the legal mother of your child at birth regardless of the type of surrogacy arrangement. You and you partner will need to apply for a Parental Order to become the legal parents of your child born through a surrogacy treatment. This process is well established in the UK and with the appropriate legal advice you can ensure you will both become the legal parents of your child.