Surrogacy has been practiced publicly in the UK since the 80’s when the Surrogacy Arrangements Act was first brought into law following the birth of the ‘baby Cotton legal case’ – born to a UK surrogate, Kim Cotton. This lead to a widely covered media frenzy and later the enforcement of the rushed and somewhat clunky legislation which became the Surrogacy Arrangements Act of 1985.
Unlike many other destinations surrogacy in the UK is altruistic and is likely to remain this way, and for many this is exactly what is preferred. This means surrogacy organisations in the UK and surrogates cannot profit from surrogacy. Surrogates must only be reimbursed reasonable expenses.
One of the initial misconceptions with UK Surrogacy is that people often think it’s highly complex, illegal, or anti-family. This isn’t the case at all, altruistic surrogacy is perfectly legal in the UK, furthermore the law is currently in the process of a reform by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission. The final findings are with the current Labour Government, as the laws are out of date and in need of modernising to protect everyone with greater levels of compliance.
You can register with a number of Government recommended surrogacy organisations such as My Surrogacy Journey. Surrogate wait times will vary greatly, however surrogacy is not to be rushed into nor hurried. Waiting times can be anything from six months to two years plus.
Be wary of online or independent surrogacy Facebook groups, as these obviously work with no formal practices or policies or persons officially responsible.
Our founders have been campaigning for change since 2016, when they became parents themselves to their first child. Since then, MSJ has been no stranger for fighting for various legislative changes; including being an active member with the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Surrogacy Reform and The Law Commission for England and Wales and The Scottish Law Commission. My Surrogacy Journey has also assisted with The Baby Loss Certificate 2024, the Fertility Injustice Coalition and more recently the Parliamentary Forum Group focussed on Fertility, Fertility in the Workplace and Fertility Education.
As a leading surrogacy organisation it’s our job to guide you throughout your journey to parenthood, as the only UK government surrogacy agency founded by parents through surrogacy ourselves, we understand the importance of exceptional professional, emotional, clinical and practical support – and that’s why our membership has been created through a balanced lens; supporting everyone equally.
Creating a child with donor eggs and donor sperm is not allowed in the UK. This is referred to as ‘double donation’. At least one of the intended parents needs to be genetically linked to the child, in order to apply for and be granted the parental order (PO) – which gives legal parental responsibility and replaces the Surrogate (and their partner if married or civil partnered).
UK Surrogacy varies in cost, mainly due to the method of which the intended parent/s conceive their baby.
This process avoids using a fertility clinic in the majority of cases, commonly using home insemination as a way to fertilise the surrogates own eggs. Traditional surrogacy costs much less as the costs are mainly attributed to the surrogates expenses. These can be anything from £6,000 to £25,000.
However, the average expenses for traditional surrogates are around £15,000 – £17,000 for a typical pregnancy but this obviously is unique to the surrogates personal circumstances.
This is more expensive, but you have greater flexibility (and protection) in terms of future family building, protecting the genetic link of your family/donor, based on the benefits of the IVF process and services associated with it. You can either create new embryos or have the added benefit of using previously frozen embryos.
Costs for this type of surrogacy will vary from clinic to clinic but on average the total sum you can be expected to pay including has a varying number Surrogacy IVF treatment cycle costs, donor eggs, blood, egg/semen and genetic analysis and cryopreservation.
Experienced fertility clinics charge between £18k-£22k for a Surrogacy IVF programme with donor eggs and all screening costs. Budget for around £12k – £18k for surrogates’ expense.
We’ve been right where you are, right now. This is why our new intuitive app has been created to support you like no other surrogacy agency.
Our app provides personalised spaces to meet the needs of all our members. One place to educate yourself, to speak to other members and in private with our team. The same place where we’ll hold virtual events and organise in-person events.
We have created a network that ensures that communication with our members is at the heart of all we do. Why not download it now and take a look around. If you become a member of MSJ, a whole wealth of content will become available through our app.
My Surrogacy Journey The Podcast brings you a wealth of information to support you on your journey, or to help you learn more if you’re considering surrogacy. Hosted by Mike and Wes, they are joined by experts in the field of reproduction, clinics, counsellors lawyers and more! 3 seasons as well as a Mexico City edition answering all your questions about surrogacy in Mexico City.
We also have a podcast dedicated just to surrogates – The Surrogate Podcast. Hosted by the wonderful Kay and Hayley , surrogates themselves, they bring to you a season full of everything you might want to know – from the voice of surrogates themselves. as they are joined by other surrogates and discuss key matters.
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