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WHAT IS BEST PRACTICE?
BEST PRACTICE PRINCIPLES
Families Through Surrogacy in consultation with its members and other stakeholders has provided a set of minimum standards which all service providers should abide by. Intended Parents are encouraged to familiarise themselves with these standards and satisfy themselves that professionals they engage with follow them
Surrogacy Agencies
- Will not facilitate surrogacy for intended parents whose country of origin will not process the necessary citizenship for infants born via surrogacy
- Will recruit only surrogates who have at least one child of their own and fully understand the risks inherent in a surrogate pregnancy
- Will ensure that surrogates undergo appropriate psychological counselling prior to being accepted
- Where they arrange the use of a gamete donor, will only use donors for whom a full medical history is available
- Will ensure the surrogate has understood and agreed to, without coercion, all aspects of any surrogacy contract she enters into
- Ensure surrogates are fairly compensated and provide transparency in regard to surrogate care and re-imbursement
- Will provide regular updates on the condition of the surrogate and the course of the pregnancy, as well as immediate notification in the event of an emergency or unexpected medical admissions
- Will provide intended parents with documentation of all surrogate and ancillary expenses
- Facilitate any mutually desired contact between intended parent and surrogate before and during pregnancy
- Ensure surrogates have safe, comfortable housing conducive to a healthy pregnancy.
- Ensure surrogates receive guidance in nutrition during pregnancy and respectful, competent, up-to-date medical care .
IVF Service Providers
- Provide intended parents with concise information regarding likely costs and documentation of all medical and ancillary expenses
- Provide realistic advice regarding likely embryo transfer success rates relevant to the intended parents’ circumstances
- Educate IPs on the possible pregnancy complications and ongoing health risks where a surrogate is carrying twins
- Ensure embryos progress to blastocyst stage before implantation
- Minimise complication associated with multiple pregnancy, will transfer no more than two embryos to a surrogate per attempt unless individual medical circumstances warrant
- Demonstrate quality control protocols in relation to gamete and embryo retrieval, storage and transfer
- Ensure they communicate to intended parents the results of medical procedures and medical tests promptly
- Advise on whether genetic screening of embryos is recommended and the risks associated with embryo biopsy
Lawyers/Attorneys
- Provide pertinent legal advice relevant to the needs of intended parents engaging domestically and internationally which outline the specifc laws in relation to eligibility and legal parentage
Obstetric Service Providers
- Will provide concise information regarding likely costs (including any outside charges such as hospitalizations, NICU, caesarean births, etc.)
- Will ensure that surrogates receive all necessary medical care following caesarean section, including facilities and resources devoted to confining surrogates to bed-rest for 6 weeks