Surrogacy Program Options for Parents

• Gestational Surrogacy Only
• Gestational Surrogacy Plus Egg Donation
• Egg Donation Only
• Surrogacy with Your Own Surrogate
• Dual Journey
• Sibling Journey

These are the different programs that Circle Surrogacy & Egg Donation offers. If you are interested in learning more about any of our programs – or you don't see a program that feels like the best fit – you can fill out a short form and we will be in touch ASAP!

Designed for intended parents who can provide the needed biology, but require the assistance of a gestational surrogate. This means that you will either use your own eggs and sperm to create embryos – or have already created your embryos – but you are not able to carry a baby to term, due to infertility or a prior medical diagnosis such as cancer; or perhaps you're a same sex couple with embryos already created and you simply need our help in finding a gestational surrogate.

It is not uncommon for intended parents to come to us for surrogacy, but when creating embryos realize they may also need the help of an egg donor. And that's okay, we'll guide you throughout that process!

Our Surrogacy Only program is designed to mentor and guide you through the entire surrogacy journey. We will work with your IVF clinic, match you with the perfect gestational surrogate, and manage all aspects of your journey from start to finish.

Intended parents who require egg donation for gestational surrogacy are not able to provide the necessary biology to create embryos, and they also need a gestational surrogate to carry the baby to term. LGBTQ+ individuals and couples often use surrogacy plus egg donation, as well as some heterosexual couples with infertility or medical diagnoses.

For surrogacy plus egg donation, intended parents will match with an egg donor to provide her eggs (and sometimes, intended parents may need a sperm donor as well). Once the eggs are retrieved, embryos will be created in a lab at the parents' IVF clinic. The embryos will then be transferred into a gestational carrier's uterus.

If you are able to carry a baby to term, however you require a donor egg to create embryos, you may choose our Egg Donation Only program.

Circle has a robust egg donor database filled with hundreds of bright, young women; we'll help you find the perfect match. We'll help you understand the differences between known and anonymous egg donation, and how to choose the donor that best fits your needs.

After you match with an egg donor, you'll work with your clinic to schedule her egg retrieval. Once her eggs are retrieved, your embryos will be created and transferred into the intended mother's uterus.

Can a friend be your surrogate? Yes, in some instances, intended parents come to us and have a family member or friend – or have found a match through surrogacy communities – who will be their gestational surrogate. You may hear this referred to as independent surrogacy or private surrogacy.

Some intended parents will pursue surrogacy without an agency, however even if you have found a surrogate on your own, you may still desire to have an agency manage your surrogacy journey (vs doing an independent journey). There are a few different levels of support available with this program, speak with us to learn more about options and costs. Read about 5 reasons to use a surrogacy agency.

For parents that choose to do an independent surrogacy journey (also called an "indy journey" or "indy surrogacy"), they will not only find their own surrogate, but also manage all aspects of the journey themselves (legal, local monitoring, accounting, etc). Our Surrogacy with Your Own Surrogate Program allows intended parents the freedom of finding their own surrogate match (and saving those funds) with the option to have professional support. When pursuing an independent journey, you may find that your clinic requires some level of support from a surrogacy agency – and that's where Circle can help.

Explore our Surrogacy with Your Own Surrogate Programs and Costs below!

Our Surrogacy with Your Own Surrogate program enables Intended Parents to find a gestational surrogate on their own, and still have the exceptional support Circle offers throughout their journey. Intended Parents can bring their surrogate to our program, and Circle will perform the screening, background checks and medical record review, as well as all our other surrogacy services for parents. We are with you until you have your baby!

Our Surrogacy with Your Own Surrogate Essential Program is a wonderful option for intended parents who have identified a family member or close friend who will serve as their gestational surrogate for their surrogacy journey. Once Intended Parents have identified a carrier, they can partner with Circle for the exceptional support we offer intended parents throughout their journey. We are with you until you have your baby!

Our Essential Program provides fixed costs for all your professional fees, including agency, legal, screening and support expenses. Third party expenses are variable in this program – only pay for what you need!

Our Surrogacy with Your Own Surrogate a la Carte Program is for intended parents who have identified a gestational surrogate on their own for their surrogacy journey, and who wish to pursue an independent journey. In this program, Circle Surrogacy will work with your clinic of choice to set you up for success until you are pregnant, and then you will manage the entirety of your journey.

Some clinics may require you work with a surrogacy agency to ensure your surrogate is properly screened and ready for a surrogacy journey. That’s where Circle comes in: we can perform your surrogate screening, handle contracts, perform the surrogate’s insurance review and assist in the set up of local monitoring and escrow management (if you choose).

Intended parents can choose Surrogacy Only or Surrogacy with Egg Donation for a Dual Journey. In this type of journey, intended parents will have two gestational surrogates carrying babies in staggered journeys. Intended parents wishing to have more than one child through surrogacy may choose this option which can be more medically advisable than a gestational surrogate carrying twins. Parents can choose Gestational Surrogacy Only if they are creating/have their own embryos or Gestational Surrogacy plus Egg Donation if they need donor eggs to create their family.

To explore a Dual Journey, please email us.

A sibling journey is a second (or third!) surrogacy journey with Circle to grow your family even more. Some intended parents have formed such a strong bond with their previous gestational surrogate that they return to the program together for another journey. It is also an option for intended parents to do sibling journey with a new gestational surrogate as well (some surrogates may not be ready to return, or have reached their limit of journeys).

If you're interested in starting the process of a sibling journey, email our team.

When it comes to choosing a surrogacy program, you may have some questions to help you decide the option that's best for you.