Widely considered one of the top fertility experts in the field, Dr. Mark Surrey has been in practice for over 25 years. He is a board-certified reproductive and endoscopic surgeon and serves as a clinical professor in the Department of OBGYN at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. He was elected President of the American Laparoscopy Society & Pacific Coast Reproductive Society and is a Clinical Director of Fellowship Training for UCLA & Cedars Sinai Reproductive Endocrinology. Also a founding member of The Society of Reproductive Surgeons. Dr. Surrey is a yearly recipient of the leading research contributions for ASRM. Furthermore, he is the associate director at the Southern California Reproductive Center, a clinic he co-founded. Haute MD sits down with Dr. Mark Surrey to discuss the process and the right candidate for gestational surrogacy. 

Photo Credit: ShutterstockHaute MD: What is gestational surrogacy?

Gestational surrogacy means another person, a so-called surrogate, carries the pregnancy for you and your partner.

Haute MD: Is this different from traditional surrogacy?

By definition, some people think of “traditional surrogacy” as the biological father having intercourse with another person, the intended surrogate. In the case of gestational surrogacy, we create an embryo with the intended parents’ sperm and egg (if possible), and the surrogate will go through the embryo implantation process and carry the baby.

Haute MD: How long does the process take?

Finding the right surrogate can be the most time-consuming factor. Once you have identified the right surrogate for you, it only takes a few weeks to prepare her for the surrogacy process.

Photo Credit: ShutterstockHaute MD: Who is a good surrogate candidate?

Surrogacy is a great solution for a woman who can produce eggs but cannot or does not want to carry a pregnancy. If a woman has medical implications that make a pregnancy risky or impossible, such as severe hypertension, diabetes, or cardiac disease, or gynecological implications like hysterectomy or uterine malformations, surrogacy is a wonderful option.

Haute MD: What makes a woman a good surrogate?

A surrogate needs to have had unremarkable, normal pregnancies in the past, be in stellar health, and somewhere in the age range between 21 and 45.

A healthy lifestyle is of course of great importance as well. Many patients also want to know about a surrogate’s motivation, her support system, and her overall social, physical, and psychological history.