Surrogacy and the Single Dad

December 1, 2006

David–who wants to conceal his surname–is one of a small but growing minority of single men who are choosing to bypass relationships altogether and pursue fatherhood through surrogacy. Not traditional surrogacy but ‘host’ or ‘gestational’ surrogacy–there’s a big difference. While a traditional surrogate becomes pregnant by artificial insemination–her own eggs are fertilized so she is genetically the child’s mother–a host surrogacy is more complex. The prospective father first buys eggs from a donor–they can range from $2,000 to $100,000 a batch, depending on the donor’s looks, brains, health and so on. He has them fertilized in-vitro with his own sperm or that of another cherry-picked donor–IVF costs up to $23,000. And then the embryos are implanted in the uterus of a surrogate who brings the baby to term for about $25,000. Not to mention legal fees. (Boise Weekly)