Which appointments require travel?
Most surrogates travel twice. Both trips are to the intended parents' fertility clinic, which may be in another state.
- Medical screening. The clinic examines you before the medical cycle: an ultrasound of your uterus, blood work and an infectious disease screen. See medical screening.
- Embryo transfer. The clinic transfers the embryo, and you rest before traveling home. See transfer day.
Everything in between happens near home. Your monitoring appointments, your pregnancy tests and, after release, your prenatal care are all local. You deliver at a hospital near your home.
Private Label Surrogacy works with 14 partner fertility centers, including Kindbody, Shady Grove Fertility, Fertility Centers of Illinois and Oregon Reproductive Medicine. If the intended parents' clinic is near you, one or both trips may be a drive rather than a flight.
| Trip | Typical length | Who travels | What is booked | What is reimbursed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical screening | One to two days, including travel | You; a companion if your agreement allows | Flights or mileage, hotel, ground transport | Meals, mileage, childcare, your lost wages |
| Embryo transfer | Usually two to three days, including a rest day | You and a companion | Flights or mileage, hotel, ground transport for both | Meals, mileage, childcare, your lost wages, your partner's lost wages |
| Local monitoring | Three or four short visits | You | Nothing to book | Mileage, childcare, lost wages for time missed |
| Delivery | Your local hospital | You and your partner | Nothing to book | Your lost wages, your partner's lost wages, childcare |
Who books and who pays?
PLS books your flights, hotel and ground transport. The intended parents pay. You never front the cost of a plane ticket and wait to be paid back.
Smaller costs, such as meals, mileage to the airport and parking, are reimbursed from escrow. Keep your receipts and submit them as you go. The independent licensed escrow agent pays reimbursements from an account the intended parents funded before you started medications. Your case manager helps you file.
Travel is a reimbursement, not compensation. It is paid on top of your package and never reduces it. For context, a first-time PLS surrogate carrying one baby receives a typical total package of roughly $68,000 to $78,000, built on $60,000 base compensation (proposed).
Travel companion and childcare
A travel companion's travel is paid for on the transfer trip. Most surrogates bring a partner. A friend, sister or parent works too.
If your partner travels with you, your partner's lost wages are reimbursed. If your partner stays home with the kids, childcare is still reimbursed for the days you are away. Lost wages for you and your partner are explained on surrogate lost wages.
Plan childcare early. The transfer date is set by the clinic's calendar, and the exact day can move by a day or two with your lining.
Monitoring near home between trips
Between screening and transfer, you go to a clinic near your home for monitoring: blood draws to check your hormone levels, and ultrasounds to measure your lining. Most surrogates have three or four monitoring appointments before transfer.
Each is usually short, often first thing in the morning, so you can get to work after. The fertility clinic reads the results the same day and adjusts your medication if needed. Your case manager sets up the local clinic and makes sure your results reach the intended parents' clinic.
Mileage, childcare and lost wages for monitoring appointments are reimbursed.
What to pack for transfer travel
The transfer trip is short. Pack light and pack your medications first.
- All your medications, in your carry-on, with the clinic's instructions and calendar. Do not check them.
- Your sharps container if you will inject while you are away, and alcohol swabs.
- A heating pad for progesterone soreness.
- Comfortable, loose clothes for transfer day and the rest day after.
- A water bottle. Many clinics ask for a full bladder at transfer.
- Your ID, insurance card and the clinic's address.
- Something to do on the rest day: a book, a show, a phone charger.
- Your case manager's number and the PLS after-hours contact.
Travel restrictions during pregnancy
Under most agreements, you can fly until about 24 weeks of pregnancy. After 24 weeks, the agreement restricts travel more than about two hours from home or your delivery hospital. The 24-week restriction in the PLS standard agreement is being confirmed with Nancy Block, RN.
The reason is simple. Your OB and your delivery hospital are near home. If you go into labor early, the intended parents' plan, the hospital's paperwork and your birth plan are all set up for that hospital.
If you need to travel later in pregnancy for a family reason, talk to your OB and your case manager first. Your attorney can explain how the agreement treats it.
What happens if something goes wrong on the road
Flights get cancelled. Hotels lose reservations. Cars break down. When it happens, call PLS.
The after-hours team handles it. One night, the PLS after-hours team rebooked a stranded surrogate's hotel, car and flight while another PLS surrogate was delivering twins. You are not expected to solve a cancelled flight on your own, or to pay for the fix.
If a delay puts your transfer at risk, the team works with the clinic on timing. If you feel unwell while traveling, call the clinic first, then your case manager.
Travel for international intended parents' cycles
PLS works with intended parents across the US and abroad. Jan Telman Berman, the PLS Global Surrogacy Coordinator, has more than 18 years of experience and manages national and international cycles.
When the intended parents live outside the US, the embryo transfer still takes place at a US fertility clinic, so your travel looks the same as for US parents. What changes is the coordination. Expect more video contact with the intended parents, and a translator if one is needed. Your case manager stays your point of contact.
The intended parents may travel to the US for the transfer or for the birth. That is their travel to plan, not yours. Citizenship and travel documents for children of non-citizen parents are under review by counsel; status as of [DATE].
If you are ready to start, the first step is the prescreen: see if you qualify.
Sources
- Private Label Surrogacy travel and reimbursement practice, pending confirmation by Nancy Block, RN.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), guidance on air travel during pregnancy.