Updated on Aug 17 for adding Conscious Conception, Extraordinary Conception, VIP Subrogacy, and VIVA Family
There are several agencies for surrogacy that operate in Mexico. Surrogacy agencies are definitely not made equal. They have different prices, offer different services, and have different areas of strengths and weaknesses. When I was searching for an agency, it was daunting because I didn’t know where to start. That’s why I’ve put major surrogacy agencies in Mexico into one place so you can have an overview of who they are before you choose your agency. They are listed in no particular order.
Overview of Surrogacy Agencies in Mexico
* Note that prices are approximate and the agencies have the right to change them at any time.
CARE Surrogacy
In short: CARE Surrogacy operates in Puerto Vallarta in the state of Jalisco, a state that is friendly to surrogacy. Their service is open to everyone including international intended parents and LGBTQ+. They will initiate a court action to obtain an legal authorization to start surrogacy from a local court. When the authorization is complete, full parental rights of the intended parents are recognized before the child is born (before surrogacy even starts, in fact), and upon the birth of the child, the intended parents’ names will be on the birth certificate.
Where surrogacy takes place: Puerto Vallarta
Price range: Approximately $55,000 USD
Comment: If you intend to have only your name present on the birth certificate of your child, you can either do an Amparo trial after the birth of your child, which takes 1 to 2 months, or, according to CARE Surrogacy, you can obtain an authorization from the court before surrogacy starts. Note that the trial to obtain authorization takes between 3 and 6 months. Intended parents don’t have to stay in Mexico during this time period.
Conscious Conception
In short: Conscious Conception is a relatively new company which is based in the US but operating exclusively in Mexico. Even though it’s a new company, the founder has experience in handling surrogacy cases in his previous role in a fertility clinic in Mexico. Conscious Conception offers guarantee packages which includes legal support. It has partnership with clinics in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Puerto Vallarta.
Where surrogacy takes place: Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Mexico City
Price range: (Please inquire the agency)
Comment: If you are looking for an American company for insurance or employer reimbursement purposes, Conscious Conception may be a good choice. Because the agency is relatively new, it aims to please new clients. You might be able to get fast service and fast surrogate matching.
Egg Donors Miracles
In short: Egg Donors Miracles operate in Mexico as a full-service surrogacy agency. They offer sperm and egg donation services, IVF, gender selection, surrogacy, and legal services. It is not clear whether you can use your own embryos from their website. They operate in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. They don’t offer guarantee programs and approximately 2 embryo transfers are included in their standard package.
Where surrogacy takes place: In Cancun or Puerto Vallarta
Price range: $1,000,000 mxn – $1,300,000 mxn if egg donor is involved (appr. $58,000 – $75,000 USD)
Comment: The price for their non-guaranteed egg donor program is on the higher end, but they have generally positive reviews.
Eggspecting
In short: Eggspecting is a full-service surrogacy agency based in US. The agency undertakes all facets of surrogacy process including surrogate screening, medical services, and legal services. Their programs are offered in Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and Guadalajara, with different package prices for each location. While the package prices are higher than other agencies, they have a smaller client base in Mexico so you might be able to get more personalized services.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, or Guadalajara
Price Range: $72,000 USD (Mexico City – Puerto Vallarta hybrid, non-guaranteed) – $120,000 USD (Mexico City, guaranteed). Also, they offer surrogacy only program.
Comment: Eggspecting has many kinds of programs at different locations which give intended parents more chance to select what suit them the best.
Extraordinary Conceptions
In short: Extraordinary Conceptions is an international surrogacy company based in US. It was founded in 2005, making it into one of the older agencies that operate in Mexico. It offers services in multiple countries including Canada, US, and Mexico. Extraordinary Conceptions also offer a hybrid program where a surrogate travels to a fertility clinic in Canada or US for embryo transfer. After embryo transfer, she goes back to her country (Mexico, in our case) and give birth there. This option is good for people who want to have their embryo transfer process done at their own fertility clinic for a peace of mind.
Where surrogacy takes place: Puerto Vallarta
Price Range: About $80,000 to $90,000 USD (non-guarantee program)
Comment: Extraordinary Conception is registered in California and has almost 20 years of experience. The fee structure is transparent. You pay the agency the agency fee and the services performed by the agency. You pay the clinic directly the medical cost and the lawyer directly the legal cost. This way, you know that the agency is not “marking up” the service cost paid to the clinic and lawyer. Another advantage of Extraordinary Conception is that you might be able to get a pre-birth order by completing a pre-birth Amparo trial. If you can do this, you don’t need to go through an Amparo trial after the birth, shortening the time you stay in Mexico after the birth. If an intended parent wants to use their own fertility clinic for embryo transfer, inquire the agency about its hybrid program.
GSM Corporativo
In short: GSM (or Gestación Sustituta Mexico) is a Mexican surrogacy agency operating in the state of Sinaloa. The state of Sinaloa has a legal framework for surrogacy. GSM carries out a court process to get an approval to proceed with the surrogacy before embryo transfer takes place. After a successful ruling is returned, the embryo transfer takes place. After the birth of the child, the intended parent can get an official birth certificate with their name(s) on it, without the name of the surrogate. This means no Amparo is required after the birth of the baby.
Where surrogacy takes place: Punta Mia for embryo transfer. Legal process and birth in Sinaloa.
Price Range: Approximately $90,000 USD for all costs including legal procedures and surrogate compensation.
Comment: Because the surrogacy takes place in the state of Sinaloa, a pre-birth order is possible since the state of Sinaloa has laws regulating surrogacy. Without an Amparo trial taking place after the birth of the baby, an intended parent may be able to save one month of post-birth stay in Mexico or longer. While the state law prohibits surrogacy by foreign intended parents, the constitution of Mexico does not allow discrimination on the basis of nationality, as confirmed by the Supreme Court ruling in 2021, and thus foreign intended parents can pursue surrogacy legally in this state. The agency does not offer guarantee programs.
Gestacy
In short: Gestacy is a US-based surrogacy agency that has an office in Mexico. They offer non-guaranteed programs. They work with several major fertility clinics in Mexico City, so intended parents have a choice which clinic they want to use. Being an US agency, their agency fees are somewhat higher than other agencies, and their package prices do not include legal fees, which can go up to $10,000 USD.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: $76,000 USD – $92,000 USD (note, you have to also budget for hiring your own lawyers in Mexico City, which may range between $7,000 USD – $12,000 USD)
Comment: Gestacy has mixed reviews as they are struggling to service increasing number of intended parents. Their prices are are on the higher end if you count the fact that you have to hire your own lawyers for approximately $10,000 USD more. One of the advantages of working with Gestacy is flexibility. Gestacy allows you to choose which legal firm you want to work with and which hospital you want the baby to be delivered in. Another advantage is financial transparency. Gestacy doesn’t lump all fees into one contract price. Instead, it breaks down fees into its agency fee, egg donation fee, clinic fees for IVF and embryo transfers, and so on. An intended parent is allowed to have direct contact with their clinic, and they pay only what the clinic charges for medical costs. This model is more transparent than when an agency charges a lump sum cost as a project price, then pays its clinic and other service providers. As of July 2024, expect 4 – 6 months of wait time for surrogate matching.
Miracle Surrogacy
In short: Miracle Surrogacy is one of the oldest surrogacy agencies operating in Mexico. It has been operating there since 2014, long before the 2021 Supreme Court decision. They offer standard and guaranteed programs in Cancun and Mexico City. Their prices used to be one of the lowest in Mexico; however, due to recent surge in intended parents choosing Miracle, this is no longer the case. Cost per embryo transfer is one of the highest in Mexico. Intended parents should budget for at least 2 to 3 embryo transfers.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City or Cancun
Price range: $59,000 USD – $77,000 USD (note, legal cost for Amparo may not be included. Premium egg donors are available at $12,000 USD cost. Extra embryo transfers are approximately $7,000 USD each time.)
Comment: Intended parents are generally finding the surrogate match time to be short with Miracle Surrogacy. The average wait time as of September 2024 is about 10 weeks. Miracle Surrogacy has started to offer legal services for intended parents, helping them with exit process and obtaining a judicial order to have a birth certificate with only the intended parents name(s) issued by Civil Registry.
My Surrogacy Journey
In short: My Surrogacy Journey is a UK-based surrogacy agency that offer full surrogacy programs to intended parents in UK as well as in North America. They have coordinator(s) working in Mexico City. According to My Surrogacy Journey, they can help intended parents get a court judgement naming them to be the legal parents before the birth of their child (pre-birth order). According to the lawyer associated with My Surrogacy Journey, the chance of success in obtaining a pre-birth order in Mexico City is about 50%.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: Approximately $70,000 – $90,000 USD
Comment: The agency is more established in UK and is relatively new in taking in North American clients. It works with Fertilidad Integral fertility clinic in Mexico City.
New Life Mexico
In short: New Life Mexico is a part of New Life Surrogacy, an agency that operates in multiple countries such as Georgia and Ukraine. It offers guarantee and non-guarantee programs, programs using your own embryos or using an egg donor. Its guarantee terms are fairly strong, covering unlimited IVF and egg donation as well as risks of miscarriage and even post-delivery death of the baby. It is also one of the few programs in which an intended parent can use their own eggs and embryos in a guarantee program. An intended mother can undergo egg retrieval for IVF, and if no pregnancy results, she can transition to egg donation cycle within the same guarantee terms. Similarly, an intended parent can use their own embryos for embryo transfer and they can transition to egg donation cycle if it results in failure.
Where surrogacy takes place: Cancun
Price range: $87,000 USD for guarantee program
Comment: If you have your own embryos and still want to a strong guarantee terms, New Life Mexico’s guarantee program may be a good fit. Most agencies do not allow usage of own embryos or own eggs in a guarantee contract because they have no control over the quality of intended parents’ own eggs or embryos. In order to use your own embryos in a guarantee program, however, the embryos must be of high grades (As and Bs in the embryo grading chart). Also, note that New Life does not offer legal services for obtaining a birth certificate, so you’ll want to budget about some additional money for hiring a lawyer. Note that New Life Surrogacy has been investigated by UK authorities for advertising surrogacy services in UK and has been reported as employing unethical medical procedures on surrogates.
Occydonor
In short: Occydonor is an agency that offers shipped embryo program and egg donor programs. The program is based in Mexico City and uses PROCREA, a fertility clinic in the same city. They don’t seem to offer guarantee programs and legal services are not included in their package.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: (Please contact the agency)
Comment: Intended parents generally report positive feelings toward Occydonor. Occydonor does not offer newborn insurance. Also, since legal costs are not included, you may have to hire your own lawyer in Mexico to help you with registering birth or doing the Amparo (cost can be $7,000 USD – $12,000 USD).
Sensible Surrogacy
In short: Sensible Surrogacy is owned by Bill Houghton, who is a 2x surrogacy dad. While he offers surrogacy services around the world, in Mexico, he partners with Surrogacy Mexico and acts as a consultant to the intended parent. His website has a very in-depth guide to surrogacy around the world and it is very informative for new intended parent. Whether you want to contract directly with Surrogacy Mexico or add around $7,000 to hire Bill as your personal consultant to smooth out communication between you and Surrogacy Mexico is up to your comfort level and preference.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: See Surrogacy Mexico
Comment: Intended parents who have had contact with Bill usually have positive opinion of him. Note that the actual medical services and surrogate matching are done by Surrogacy Mexico and legal services are done by a Mexican law firm.
Surrogacy Mexico
In short: Surrogacy Mexico is an agency that offer full-service surrogacy programs in Mexico City. It uses its own clinic, ReproVIDA, to provide medical services and an external competent legal team to provide legal services. Surrogacy Mexico does not allow intended parents to leave the name of surrogate on your baby’s birth certificate. Surrogacy Mexico has the lowest prices of all of the surrogacy agencies in Mexico, and their client base is larger than others.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: $52,000 USD – $67,000 USD
Comment: Surrogacy Mexico offers both guarantee and non-guarantee programs. Their guarantee programs are at or less than $70,000 USD, making it one of the cheapest programs offered by agencies. Their patient coordinator is a family doctor, which I believe, is definitely a strength. Note that legal services are not included in the price, so you should budget about $8,000 USD more for hiring a lawyer if you want to go through the Amparo trial. Because of their price and the fact that they are partnered with two other agencies, Surrogacy Mexico’s client base is large and the waiting time to match a surrogate is long. It partners with a non-profit organization which recruits surrogates in an ethical manner (according to the website of the non-profit organization). Note that Surrogacy Mexico does not allow intended parents to modify the agency contract, and the guarantee terms on the contract are very weak.
Tammuz Family
In short: Tammuz Family is a surrogacy agency located in Israel. It offers surrogacy services around the world. In Mexico, it partners with Surrogacy Mexico, so the actual medical services are performed by Surrogacy Mexico. Tammuz Family offers additional consultation and help to intended parents.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: See Surrogacy Mexico
Comment: Note that the actual medical services and surrogate matching are done by Surrogacy Mexico and legal services are done by a Mexican law firm.
VIP Subrogacy
In short: VIP Subrogacy is a US-based company that has relatively recently started servicing surrogacy cases for intended parents in Mexico. It has its own surrogate-recruiting arm called Storks Helpers, offering a relatively high amount of surrogate compensation (430,000 to 480,000 pesos, compared to 300,000 pesos that many other agencies offer). This means VIP Subrogacy is able to attract more candidates who want to become a surrogate.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: (Please contact the agency)
Comment: While VIP Subrogacy does not have too many clients, yet, clients of VIP Subrogacy generally report positive experience with them. It currently offer fast matching as it has ready surrogates (as of August 2024). It has partnership with competent fertility clinics and lawyers in Mexico City. Because the agency is at a stage where it is aiming to please clients in order to get its name out, you can expect good services as well as flexibility to accommodate your needs.
VIVA Family
In short: VIVA Family is a new surrogacy agency located in Mexico City. Even though the organization is new, the founder of VIVA Family was also the founder of Fertycare Group, another surrogacy agency. The agency has an in-house OBG/YN and psychologist. Embryo transfer and IVF are outsourced to ReproVIDA, the fertility clinic owned by Surrogacy Mexico.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: $60,000 USD (non-guarantee program, including legal cost) to $79,000 (guarantee program, including legal cost)
Comment: VIVA Family is a new agency, so it is not inundated with intended parents, yet. That means they are able to offer more personalized services. Even though the organization itself is new, its founder has founded and worked in Fertycare for years so they are not new to surrogacy sphere. The price tag of $60,000 USD ($79,000 for guarantee program) is very competitive in Mexico and ReproVIDA has much experiencing in medical procedures involving surrogacy. If you like the low price of Surrogacy Mexico and the experience of but want a smaller agency to offer you more personalized services, VIVA Family might be a good choice.
World Center of Babies
In short: World Center of Babies (WCOB for short) is a surrogacy agency located in Cyprus. It offers surrogacy services around the world. In Mexico, it has a patient coordinator who liaises with Mexican clinic and lawyers. It offers both guarantee and non-guarantee programs, as well as Extra Care program, which is a premium guarantee program covering airport pick up and drop off services, free PGT-a testing, and NICU insurance.
Where surrogacy takes place: Mexico City
Price range: $68,000 USD – $95,000 USD
Comment: Extra Care program covers not only live birth guarantee, but also NICU insurance (approximately $7,000 USD value), premium egg donors, airport pickup and drop-off, and first Mexico stay hotel fees (which are not covered by other agencies). As of April 2024, it seems they have slow surrogate matching time, ranging between 6 months to over a year.
Other Things to Consider When You Are Choosing a Surrogacy Agency
When you are choosing an agency, there are various, finer factors to consider other than the type of the program (i.e. guaranteed vs non-guaranteed) and the cost of the packages. There are also many extra costs that you may incur during your surrogacy journey. Read the comprehensive guide to surrogacy cost in Mexico for full review. Let’s take a look at several important factors and questions you have to ask when choosing an agency.
1) Is the live birth guaranteed?
Many intended parents like to have live birth guaranteed in the contract. Because a surrogacy journey can go up to $100,000 USD or higher, they want a peace of mind knowing that no matter what happens, they will have a baby without going too much over their budget. Without a guarantee clause, there might be a heavy additional cost when something goes wrong:
- If you use up all of your embryo transfers in a standard package, you’ll need to buy additional embryo transfers. This can cost between $3,000 USD – $7,000 USD per transfer.
- If you need to replace a surrogate for medical reasons, her replacement cost might be extra.
- If a surrogate miscarries, you may have to pay for the cost of more embryo transfers and replacement of the surrogate.
- If you run out of embryos, you may have to pay for an egg donor and IVF to create more embryos.
However, just because a package says it guarantees birth doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t need to ask any critical questions. Read the contract given by the agency, and pay attention to the parts that relate to the guarantee.
- How does the contract define live birth?
- Is the contract clear on what kind of costs are covered by the agency if additional cost is required because certain procedures failed?
- Are there any conditions to the live birth guarantee? For example, do you have to use an egg donor? Are there any conditions to the sperm parameters?
- What will happen if live birth is not achieved? Will the agency give you back the money, or will they try more embryo transfers?
Also, note that a contract without a live birth guarantee is not necessarily bad. The cost of standard contracts is usually lower than that of guarantee contracts, and the general reputation and competency of your agency are also important.
2) How much are the extra costs?
Extra costs can quickly accumulate when something go wrong. Also, there are many optional fees that are highly recommended and even necessary at times. You’ll have to read your contract carefully to determine what fees are not covered on your contract, guarantee or no guarantee. Some of the major costs are:
- PGT-A Test: This is a test done on newly-created embryos to see if the number of chromosomes in each embryo is normal. If the number of chromosomes, in which DNA is found, is abnormal, the child born from the embryo may suffer from genetic disorders such as Down syndrome. Some labs or agencies may offer PGS tests, which are very similar to PGT-A tests. Many intended parents choose to have this test performed for their embryos, but PGT-A tests do have limitations. Because they don’t look at structural anomalies or single-gene mutations, the test does not detect all genetic disorders that may arise. The cost for PGT-A test typically ranges between $400 USD – $700 USD per embryo tested.
- NICU Insurance: The cost of neonatal intensive care unit is expensive in Mexico, but intended parents would have no choice but to use it if their baby is born with complications that need additional medical help. Without insurance, an intended parent may face a bill of $1,000 USD per day or more. Some agencies may sell you NICU insurance or newborn insurance covering NICU stays as an optional item, while other agencies may include it in their program cost. The cost of such an insurance may range between $3,000 USD and $7,000 USD. An intended parent also has the choice of purchasing private insurance that has specific clause related to surrogacy, such as Bupa Global Health Insurance, but its cost may be very high (~$20,000 USD). When purchasing an NICU insurance, make sure to check the fine prints – some NICU insurance may cover only preterm deliveries while even babies born at term may face complications that require NICU stay.
- Per Embryo Transfer Cost: The general success rate of an embryo transfer resulting in confirmed pregnancy is 52% in the US, assuming an egg donor is used. The success rates in Mexican clinics are also around this range. If you assume 1-in-2 shot in achieving pregnancy via embryo transfer, you have about 50% chance of needing a second transfer, 25% chance of needing a third transfer, and 12.5% chance of needing a fourth transfer. Compare a program that has $3,000 USD per transfer vs a program that has $7,000 USD per transfer cost. If you need 2 additional transfers to achieve pregnancy, the cost difference would be $8,000 USD.
- Legal Cost: The service of a lawyer is needed to draft a surrogacy contract, register the birth of your child, and possibly do Amparo to have the birth certificate of your child having only your name. The legal cost can be as high as $12,000 USD.
3) What are other intended parents saying about the agency?
How the contract is worded, how the costs are covered, how the live birth is guaranteed – these are just stuff on paper. What’s perhaps the most important is the reputation of the agency. In another post, I’ve written about how to choose a surrogacy agency in Mexico. In the article, I listed 5 attributes of a good agency. These were:
- Competent – being able to get the job done. (Don’t assume every agent can get the job done without significant delays or botching the job.)
- Dedicated – being committed to helping you get your baby. (The opposite would be to treat you like just a dollar sign.)
- Communicative – willing to communicate with you what’s happening in your journey, and most of all, being timely and honest in their communications. (If they lie to placate you, that’s a big fat red flag.)
- Honest – again, being honest with you even if the answer may disappoint you. If you are given an accurate picture, you can make a fully informed choice.
- Ethical – an agency should treat everyone with respect and do the right thing, and this includes caring about the wellbeing of the surrogate.
A lot of this is not visible on paper or on initial consultation sessions with you. You will have to talk to other intended parents who are currently doing a journey with the agency in order to have an accurate picture about the agency. No two surrogacy journeys are alike, and every agency has one or two dissatisfied customers. If you talk to many intended parents, you’ll be able to see any good or worrisome patterns regarding the agency.
For more detailed discussion of how to choose the right agency in Mexico, please read this guide.