Surrogacy in Colombia | Cost | Programs | Clinics

Your Ultimate Guide to International Surrogacy in Colombia including costs and clinics.

Building a family via international surrogacy is a unique and fulfilling experience. Although in most countries surrogacy is prohibited and some countries are taking negative steps toward considering the surrogacy arrangements as not legitimate and invalid, still there are few countries which are open for prospective parents. One of such popular surrogacy hubs is Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, a country located mostly in South America with insular regions in North America. 

While most countries are excluding same–sex parents as potential parents via surrogate motherhood, Colombia is one of a few destinations where same–sex couples, de–facto couples and singles may come to arrange the surrogacy process. The Constitution of Colombia doesn’t allow discrimination and limitation of the right to access assisted reproduction services including surrogacy, that is why any prospective parent have equal right to use ART for procreation. 

Who Is a Surrogate Mother? 

A surrogate is a woman who carries the baby for another person or couple unable to conceive naturally or via assisted reproduction techniques (such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), Egg Donation, or embryo adoption), carry a pregnancy to term and give a birth to their child.  

Surrogacy Laws in Colombia 

Colombia is one of the few countries in the world where it is possible to initiate a legitimated surrogacy arrangement.

It is worth noting that Colombian legislation permits only altruistic (without financial compensation received by the surrogate mother for the services of carrying the baby) gestational surrogacy, where there is no genetic link between the surrogate and the child she carries and gives the birth. At least one parent has to be biologically linked with the baby by providing oocytes or sperm to create an embryo and to be recognized as legal parent.

Key highlights of the Colombia surrogacy laws

• Single women, single men, heterosexual couples, and same-sex couples are welcome to participate in the process as long as there is a genetic connection to the child.
• The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled that excluding same-sex parents as potential adopters was a limitation of rights of the children to have a family.
• International surrogacy is also covered by the Article 100 of the Colombian Constitution, which guarantees foreigners in Colombia the same civil rights and protections as Colombian citizens and residents.
• Unlike some US states, in Colombia there is no pre–birth order, but there is a procedure to recognize the intended parents listed on the birth certificate as the child’s legal parents after the child is born upheld by the constitutional court.

What Is a Gestational Surrogacy?

Gestational surrogacy is a type of surrogacy when a surrogate also known as gestational mother, carries a child conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) using the eggs and sperm of the intended parents or donors. It is essential to note that double donation is not an option for Colombian surrogacy. 

Genetic material used in IVF must contain either prospective mother’s or donor’s oocytes fertilized using the prospective father’s sperm. Less common are the cases when the intended mother’s eggs are fertilized with donor’s sperm. And in any of these cases, the child’s mother or child’s father should share their DNA with the baby. 

For singles, either an aspiring single mother should give her oocytes to be fertilized with donated sperm or single father should give his sperm to create an embryo using donated egg. But in any case, the gestational carrier cannot act as an egg donor and share her DNA with a baby she is going to carry. 

The embryo is created in a laboratory and transferred to the uterus of the surrogate, who carries the pregnancy to term and give the birth, but does not have a genetic relationship to the child.

One more case to enlighten is when the person or couple have an embryo stored abroad and wish to use it in surrogacy process. 

Commercial Surrogacy in Colombia

Surrogacy arrangements that are initiated with a purpose of receiving financial compensation for being a surrogate (beyond reimbursement for medical and pregnancy-related expenses) are prohibited in Colombia. 

What Other Types of Surrogacy Are Not Legal in Colombia? 

Traditional surrogacy arrangements where the surrogate donates her oocytes to be used to create the embryo either via intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization are considered illegal and banned. 

What Is Altruistic Surrogacy?

Altruistic surrogacy is an exclusive non–profit type of surrogacy when a surrogate doesn’t receive a compensation for carrying and delivering the child for another person or couple and only get reimbursed for medical costs associated with a surrogacy pregnancy and other reasonable pregnancy–related expenses such as: 

• pre–screening (background check, medical history clearance, initial consultation regarding surrogacy)
• medical evaluation, including consultations, screening tests and procedures
• insurance
• prenatal consultations
• medications
• screenings during the pregnancy
• maternity clothing
• maternity hospital fees
• delivery and post–delivery services
• postnatal care and screenings
• incidentals

Altruistic Surrogacy Cost

Altruistic surrogacy is often less expensive than commercial surrogacy because the intended parents do not compensate their surrogate (thus, save between $40,000 and $79,000). For example, non-guaranteed IVF surrogacy program in Colombia cost starts at $60,000. The same IVF surrogacy without a live birth guarantee initiated in the United States will cost for the prospective parents minimum $100,000 and an average price tag will exceed $150,000, usually resulting in $160,000. 

Despite these savings, there are still several important services and professionals involved in the altruistic surrogacy process, as well as many variable expenses that can impact the overall cost of the surrogacy.

Here are some of the services and fees that may be applicable to altruistic surrogacy arrangements:

• Agency fees 
• Consulting Fees
• Medical expenses, including the IVF services or embryo transfer, fertility injections, and labor and delivery costs
• Cryoshipping services for IVF — transportation of vitrified oocytes or/and frozen sperm samples from abroad to Colombian fertility clinic, including processing the documents, preparing the reproductive cells to be shipped, completing the legal part of the process, paying export and import fees, paying fees for courier services, covering the legal fees associated with registration of the reproductive cells, reimbursing fees for storing vitrified cells at clinic until ICSI procedure
• Cryoshipping services for IVF: transportation of vitrified embryos to Colombia, including processing the documents, initiating the legal paperwork, renting CryoShipper, paying export, import and legal fees, covering fees associated with couriers services)
• Attorney fees 
• Donation fees if an egg donor or sperm donor is required (for traveling egg donor fees associated with travel, accommodation, legal contract, donor insurance, and compensation, incidental expenses should be considered)
• Counseling expenses
• Additional fees, including travel costs to transport the surrogate to and from appointments, or plus accommodation costs if she is located far away from the clinic
• Incidental fees (management of high-risk or multiple pregnancy, additional medical services, lost wages, unanticipated issues like 

These surrogacy costs are variable depending on a number of factors, including services provided by your fertility clinic, the professionals you work with, your unique situation, and your surrogate’s needs. For a better understanding of surrogacy costs, negotiate with a surrogacy professional about your individual circumstances and needs.

Requirements for Prospective Parents and Surrogate in Colombia 

The Constitutional Court’s Sentence T 968 of 2009 outlines the necessary requirements and conditions of a surrogacy program between intended parents and surrogate including:

• There is a physiological problem to conceive because of an underlying medical condition (absence of the Fallopian tubes and cervix, absence of the uterus, deformation of the uterine cavity or cervix, severe endometriosis, multiple implantation failures, and so on);
• The surrogacy process is altruistic, not commercial in its nature;
• At least one intended parent must provide the reproductive cells for embryo creation;
• The oocytes used for conception are not provided by the surrogate mother (only gestational surrogacy);
• If the intended mother has no viable oocytes for fertilization or doesn’t want to undergo egg retrieval, the donor’s eggs should be used instead;
• The surrogate mother must be between the ages of 21 and 37 to be eligible;
• The surrogate must have previously given birth to one or more children of her own, at least one uncomplicated pregnancy, and a healthy infant;
• Prospective surrogates must pass medical and psychological exams before the process and only if medical clearance is completed successfully, they are approved;
• Once having signed the surrogacy contract with their legal representation and underwent the embryo transfer, the gestational carrier cannot terminate the pregnancy or undergo an elective embryo reduction on her own choice;
• The gestational mother can only terminate the pregnancy with a medical indication from her Obstetrician;
• The biological parent(s) cannot refuse the child under any circumstances once the baby is born;
• The death of the biological parent(s) before the birth does not leave the child unprotected.

 Egg Donation Process

Intended mothers who are unable to conceive naturally owing to low egg quality, empty ovarian reserve, ovulation problems resulting in releasing immature or non-viable oocytes, genetic abnormalities and defects, advanced reproductive age, or have already had surgery or other medical issues can use donor eggs. Colombian law protects the donor’s identity so every egg donation program has to be anonymous. While the clinics will not disclose the donor identity or share her photos, the prospective parents can review the profiles containing:

• General information such as name of the surrogate mother and her age, the color of her skin, eyes, and hair
• Education and employment history
• Medical history
• Pregnancy history
• Family medical and genetic history

Cost of Surrogacy in Colombia

Surrogacy cost in Colombia varies from case to case and depends on many factors, such as services used — preimplantation genetic testing IVF with vitrification of embryos while waiting for the results is on higher price compared to routine round of in vitro fertilization round; IVF cycles requiring egg donation is more expansive than one using the intended mother’s oocytes; applying for Premium Egg Donor and Live Birth Guarantee program may add $11,000 to the total price tag; and having two babies via two gestational surrogates can double the final cost of $60,000 USD per baby — to $125,000 USD for two infants. 

The other factor that affects the cost of journey is the number of trials initiated until the implantation and viable pregnancy is achieved — when choosing a pay–per–trial program with one in vitro fertilization and one transfer procedure with no backup of initiation of the new cycle or at least of cryotransfer using the new embryo— there is no guarantee that it would be successful. Thus, two rounds of pay–per–trial IVF surrogacy may result in additional expenses of $20,000 to the total cost, especially, if the new gestational surrogate is introduced. And vice versa: choosing a guaranteed surrogacy with a local egg donor starting at $71,000 may help you to save as this deal guarantee the unlimited number of clinical procedures without charging IVF fees each time the new round is started. 

The third factor is a professional you are working with. If you are working with an agency, they charge fees for providing such services as consulting on the process, interviewing the potential surrogates, matching, organizing the pre–screening service, counselling, managing the journey, handling negotiations for the final agreement for intended parents, analyzing all kinds of expenses related to program, and much more. If you are working with an attorney and fertility clinic (without agency assistance), the total cost will be lower but you will need to manage everything on your own. 

Below you will find agency–assisted surrogacy programs in Colombia and fees associated with each one. 

IVF Surrogacy 

Routinely, this is a comprehensive single–attempt surrogacy program including an IVF and birth package with a cost starting at $55,900 USD resulting usually in $60,000 USD. Pay–per–step with own eggs bundles cover just one trial, thus, if the pregnancy is not achieved, the clinic may offer the next round using a vitrified embryo or egg donation, that is more costly but most likely can be more effective. 

Surrogacy with a Local Egg Donor

Non–Guarantee pay–per–attempt program with Colombian Egg donor cost is slightly higher than with own oocytes and its cost starts at $59,000 USD ranging up to $66,000. Although it is possible to succeed with this deal, more parents including LGBT families are choosing the guaranteed bundles with no limits on IVF cycles and embryo transfers. 

Surrogacy with a Traveling Egg Donor

Colombia provides an opportunity to select the Traveling Egg Donor instead of local. Intended parents preferring international / global donor should consider additional expenses to the base cost of their program. 

The cost of international egg donation varies, as it depends on a lot of factors, but an average is $25,000. This includes the agency’s fees, egg donor fees and compensation, screening costs, donor insurance, and legal fees but excludes IVF–clinic related expenses and incidental fees associated with complications. If you were to include all costs, the final figure can easily add up to anywhere from $36,000 to $69,000. One should also keep in mind that multiple rounds of donor egg IVF are sometimes necessary, which will increase the costs involved, especially, if each time a new egg donor will be chosen. 

So, why is egg donation so expensive? It requires a payment to the egg donor herself for her time and her commitment to rigorous screening, testing, medication and an egg retrieval procedure under anesthesia. Some donors have to undergo DuoStim cycle with two retrievals, and it also affects the price but is less expensive compared to the new cycle started from the beginning, and the new round with a new donor. 

Some prospective parents are requesting a premium egg donor to travel to the clinic for a fresh cycle. And there are Global agencies that offer the services of Premium Donors. Such donors may have limit on donation cycles, advanced criteria such as overall and reproductive health, proven fertility (at least one healthy own child), no allergies in the medical history, and so on. 

Regardless of donor status (Premium or not), in addition to this, intended parents must cover the donor’s travel expenses (sometimes also for the donor companion), legal fees, and, finally, IVF procedure – as well as various other fees outlined by the agency and fertility clinic such as compensation in case of cycle cancellation, genetic consult, complications insurance, escrow account service fee, and contingencies fees.

Surrogacy Only with Existing Vitrified Embryos

For intended parents with embryos deposited at overseas clinics, this option offers an affordable chance for coming back with a baby after the cryotransfer. Total cost of such program starts at $50,000 USD and reaches $59,000 USD. 

Guaranteed Surrogacy with a Local Egg Donor

Guarantee fixed cost programs that provide an unlimited number of clinical procedures (IVF cycles, embryo transfers, donations, etc.) are ideal solutions for any parent looking to secure the budget and have a guaranteed live birth. While the cost may range between $66,000 USD and $77,000 USD, in most cases, you should expect to pay on average $71,000 USD.

Sibling Guarantee with 2 Surrogates

The Sibling Guarantee ensures the birth of two babies with 2 different surrogates. It is often used by the male couples who want biologically related siblings through a shared egg donor. Such programs enable both prospective fathers to participate actively in IVF — starting from selecting the woman who will donate her egg and completing with providing their sperm samples for making embryos. The total cost of this type of program typically ranges between $125,900 USD and $139,000 USD.

Twins with 1 Surrogate 

Aspiring parents may also want to have multiples via a single surrogacy journey. As there is no limit on 

number of embryos for transfer in ART, the clinicians may transfer 2–3, even 4 per one procedure. Generally, it is recommended to perform an elective single embryo transfer that likely to result into a singleton pregnancy that is considered to be uncomplicated and with lower risks of unanticipated issues, including premature birth and Caesarean section delivery. But on demand, two babies through surrogacy is possible within one gestational carrier — this is less expensive way to have twins as it is possible to transfer two embryos to get implanted. Conceiving twins and carrying multiple pregnancy may affect the overall cost of the pregnancy, but if the pregnancy and delivery of the babies would be without complications, the total cost will slightly exceed $60,000 for IVF Surrogacy and $71,000 for Guaranteed Egg Donation Surrogacy, resulting in $63,000 and $75,000. 

Colombian Clinics with Surrogacy Services 

Intended parents opting for a private or independent surrogacy can get in touch with fertility clinics to discuss their options. When choosing a clinic, it is essential to pick up the reputable one with experience in handling international surrogacy cases. Additionally, consider a thorough research and consultation with legal professionals to ensure a smooth and successful surrogacy experience in Colombia.

Note, that clinics manage only the medical process and as intended parent you will have to coordinate with a legal team and a notary for managing legal framework, and have to pay for their services. 

You will also need to find a surrogate before starting the process at clinic. 

The cost of medical part of surrogacy including medical clearance of the potential surrogate, your and your partner’s medical clearance, a round of IVF or Egg Donation IVF (local donor), preimplantation genetic testing, transfer of an embryo, and vitrification of the remaining embryos starts at $12,000 per trial. The fees may fluctuate depending on your case, needs and number of cycles initiated until the pregnancy is achieved. 

Clinics offering surrogacy services:

Celagem – Bogota

Celagem – Medellin

inSer – Instituto de Fertilidad Humana (Bogota, Colombia) 

InSer – Instituto de Fertilidad Humana – Medellin (Medellin, Colombia) 

InSer – Instituto de Fertilidad Humana – Pereira (Pereira, Colombia)

InSer – Instituto de Fertilidad Humana – Cartagena (Cartagena, Colombia)

Wrapping Things Up

Colombia is one of the most desirable surrogacy destinations in the world as surrogacy is legal and secure here — the Colombian Constitution explicitly protects the right of procreation by medically assisted reproduction services; and the Constitutional Court extended that right to gestational surrogacy in a 2009 — so, the intended parents of diverse backgrounds, any marital status and sexual orientation are welcomed — LGBT and heterosexual couples; de–facto couples, and singles. 

While surrogacy in Colombia offers a more affordable option compared to other countries, it is important for prospective parents to consider the financial commitment involved. It is recommended to consult with a financial advisor to thoroughly understand the estimated cost, incidental fees, fees associated with additional trials, the timeline of making payments, money transfer policies, payment structure (installments or full cost), and refund policies offered by the chosen clinic or agency. 

Legal fees are another aspect to consider before embarking on the journey. While surrogacy is legal in Colombia, it is essential to work with an experienced surrogacy attorney to navigate the legal process and ensure all necessary documentation is legitimate and in place. Legal fees can vary depending on the complexity of the case but are usually a smaller portion of the overall cost. 

Ultimately, surrogacy in Colombia provides a cost-effective and legally supportive environment for singles and couples seeking to start or expand their families. By carefully considering the various factors, nuances and expenses involved, aspiring parents can make an informed decision, start surrogacy process with confidence, and return home with their newborn babies.

Resources

• Sentence T-968 of 2009: https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2009/T-968-09.htm
• Surrogacy in Colombia: https://www.agtattorneys.com/blog/surrogacy-in-colombia/ (Please note that this is a private resource; consider adding resources from government or non-profit organizations)

Disclaimer

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