Comprehensive Guide to Surrogacy Cost in Mexico in 2024

Updated Oct 3, 2024 regarding Newborn Insurance

Many intended parents know that surrogacy is cheaper in Mexico than in the United States. But, what budget should an intended parent have before deciding to embark on a surrogacy journey in Mexico? What are the hidden costs and what are extra costs that you may incur if things go awry? In this blog post, I will break the cost down to items. Then, I will come up with several hypothetical but common scenarios and their costs.

Note that the costs are as of late 2023 – early 2024 and some costs may have been updated by the agency after writing this post. Please confirm the most up-to-date price with the agency.

Agency Cost (Including Medical Costs)

The cost for an agency-led program can vary widely depending on which agency you will use and the type of the program. The program can be divided into 3 major types: Non-guaranteed program using an egg donor, where the live birth of your baby is not guaranteed, Guaranteed program using an egg donor, where the live birth of your baby is guaranteed, subject to certain conditions, and Program using your own embryos shipped to the clinic in Mexico (which typically doesn’t have any guarantee terms). “Double journeys” or “sibling journeys” are where you pursue 2 pregnancies by 2 surrogates in order to have siblings born around the same time. The cost of such journeys is not considered in this post, but usually, the agency cost is slightly less than double its regular program costs.

1) Guaranteed programs using an egg donor

Some examples of guarantee programs are listed here, in no particular order.

Miracle Surrogacy: Guaranteed Baby Surrogacy Program $76,900 USD + Egg donor compensation (up to $12,000 USD for Premium egg donors)

Surrogacy Mexico: Secure Program $66,900 USD (not including legal costs)

World Center of Babies: Unlimited Program $83,000 USD (including legal costs)

2) Non-guaranteed programs using an egg donor

Egg Donor Miracles: Appr. $78,000 USD (includes 2 embryo transfers and legal costs)

Gestacy: Egg Donation Program Appr. $77,000 USD (including 3 embryo transfers and 2 PGS tests, not including legal costs)

Miracle Surrogacy: Premium Program $68,800 USD + Egg donor compensation (up to $12,000 USD for Premium egg donors)

Surrogacy Mexico: IVF Plan $58,900 USD (includes 1 embryo transfer)

World Center of Babies: Classic pay per attempt $68,000 USD (includes legal costs)

3) Shipped embryos

Miracle Surrogacy: Shipped Embryo Surrogacy Program $52,800 USD

Surrogacy Mexico: Embryo Plan $51,900 USD (includes legal costs)

World Center of Babies: Classic pay per attempt $61,000 USD (includes legal costs)

Embryo Shipping Cost

Embryo shipping cost varies widely depending on the shipping agents used, the location of your clinic in your home country, and whether any administrative fees and other fees are charged in addition to the shipping cost. In general, it’s about $2,000 USD to $5,000 USD.

Extra Medical Costs

There are many extra medical costs that you might need to pay, but only the major ones are listed here.

1) PGT-a / PGS tests

Both tests are similar, although PGT-a uses more recent and advanced lab techniques. They test the embryo to detect chromosomal abnormalities which can lead to genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome. This test is usually optional but highly recommended. The cost ranges from $3,500 USD to $7,850 USD per 6 or 8 embryos, depending on the agency and lab.

2) Premium or traveling egg donors

Some agencies make available premium egg donors for extra compensation. As opposed to egg donors located locally in Mexico, who are mostly Hispanic, these egg donors may travel from other parts of Mexico or even other countries to donate their eggs. The fees for premium egg donors is approximately $10,000 – $12,000 USD.

Some intended parents may also wish to use frozen eggs purchased from an egg bank if they want more options. The cost for frozen eggs from an egg bank varies widely, but typically they start from $16,000 USD for 5 to 8 eggs.

3) Extra embryo transfers

Unless you are signed a package promising unlimited embryo transfers, you have a limited number of embryo transfers that you can use. If all embryo transfers are unsuccessful in producing a pregnancy, you will have to purchase additional embryo transfer attempts. The average success rate of each embryo transfer is approximately 50% to 70%, assuming you are using tested high-grade embryos. This means you’ll have 75% – 91% success in getting a pregnancy within 2 tries, 87.5% – 97.3% chance of success within 3 tries. The cost of additional embryo transfer ranges from $3,000 USD to $7,000 USD, depending on the agency.

4) Experienced surrogate

An experienced surrogate is a woman who has successfully completed a surrogacy process in the past. Experienced surrogates know the surrogacy process and are generally emotionally prepared for the journey. Also, they have proven themselves that they can carry a fetus to term, although people have different opinions as to whether using an experienced surrogate have a higher chance of completing surrogacy than using one without experience. The cost of choosing an experienced surrogate is approximately $3,000 USD.

5) Surrogate replacement cost

Sometimes, a surrogate mother has to be replaced for different reasons. These can be:

• Embryo transfer failures. When 3 embryo transfers all result in failure, your clinic will replace the surrogate. This is because it is possible that pregnancy is not happening because of some biological reasons related to the surrogate.
• Surrogate failing medical test. Even after the surrogate passes medical screening, it is possible that medical or psychological issues arise that necessitate change of surrogate.
• Surrogate backing out. Sometimes, after initial matching, the surrogate backs out of the arrangement due to any number of reasons. She might back out due to long time between the initial match and the embryo transfer, or she might just become nervous.
• Misconduct or mismanagement by the surrogate. This may include the surrogate not following the doctor’s order or not taking medications as prescribed.
• You simply want to change the surrogate because of breakdown in communication or trust.

Depending on how your contract with your agency is structured and why you need to change the surrogate, the cost for replacing the surrogate may be included in the contract price. If you want to change the surrogate who is already matched or undergoing preparation for embryo transfer, you may be charged a fee for changing a surrogate and the cost of medication up to that point. If a surrogate is changed after 3 embryo transfer failures, some agencies charge you for the cost of screening and matching a new surrogate. The cost can range between $1,000 USD and $3,000 USD.

6) Twin pregnancy fees

There is always a chance that your surrogate will be pregnant with a twin. If you transfer one embryo at a time, the chance is 1 – 2% that a single embryo splits into two fetuses. If you transfer two embryos at a time, the chance goes up to 38%. Twin pregnancy comes with greater risks to the fetuses as well as to the surrogate woman. For example, according to The Fertility Center of Las Vegas, the risk of preterm birth is 65% while the risk of pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension) in the surrogate goes up by 3 times. Because of the risk to the surrogate woman is greater, additional compensation is usually charged by agencies, which can be $10,000 USD or more.

7) Sperm washing and added surrogate compensation for HIV+ patients

In surrogacy arrangements involving an HIV-positive intended parent, additional steps are taken to ensure the health and safety of the surrogate and the resulting child. One such measure is sperm washing, a process used to separate HIV from sperm cells. This technique significantly reduces the risk of HIV transmission to both the surrogate and the baby. Additionally, surrogates may receive extra compensation when working with HIV-positive individuals, acknowledging the additional medical oversight and potential complexities involved in such cases.

The cost for sperm washing is approximately $4,000 USD and while additional compensation for the surrogate varies, it ranges between $5,000 USD and $8,000 USD.

Legal Costs

1) Legal consultation in your home country

Before embarking on a surrogacy journey in Mexico, you may want to consult an immigration or family lawyer knowledgeable about surrogacy cases. They will be able to advise you how to have your parental rights recognized in your home country or how to pass your citizenship to your child. The cost of consultation typically ranges of $200 – $600 USD per hour.

2) Legal representation in Mexico

The service of a lawyer specializing in surrogacy is needed in all aspects of a surrogacy journey, including:

• Preparing a surrogacy contract between the intended parent and the surrogate
• Registering birth of the child
• Completing the Amparo process to include you and/or your partner’s name on the birth certificate and removing the surrogate’s name from the birth certificate
• Acting as an escrow agent in paying the surrogate compensation (fees are usually 8 – 10% of the total amount of compensation)

Legal cost for all the above services (excluding escrow agent fees, which are mentioned above as a percentage) 6,500 USD to 12,000 USD.

Newborn Insurance

A newborn insurance covers the medical costs of a newborn in case the newborn requires medical help beyond ordinary hospital care. Particularly, stays in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is very expensive in Mexico – it can range from $1,000 USD per day to $15,000 USD per day (in most cases, it is about $1500 USD per day). Because of this high cost, you should have an insurance covering NICU stays for your newborn. This can be in the form of your private insurance from your home country, or one of the options mentioned, below. Note that a newborn insurance is not to be confused with surrogate insurance, which covers the health of the surrogate mother but not of the newborn. A surrogate insurance may be included in the agency cost.

• An insurance plan may be offered by your agency to cover the newborn. The cost may range from $6,000 – $9,000 USD.
• Private individual or group insurance in US. If you are a US resident, some insurance plans cover the medical costs of newborns born through surrogacy in a foreign country.
• An international insurance covering specifically children born through surrogacy. This kind of insurance has specific terms for surrogacy. An example is Bupa Global Health Insurance, which can be purchased by intended parents in Europe. The cost may be between $4,700 USD – $20,000 USD or more.
• If you are an expat (meaning, you are not living in your own country of citizenship for 6 months or more), you may have an expat insurance covering yourself. If your expat insurance covers the medical cost of newborns born through surrogacy, you can add your newborn upon birth in order to cover some or all of the NICU costs. Note that most new expat insurances no longer provide coverage for newborns born through surrogacy.

In all these cases, insurance premium is higher for twin pregnancy, and all of them have an insurance deductible.

Going to and Staying in Mexico

1) Flights

You may need to fly to Mexico several times during your journey to:

• Visit the agency or the clinic before the journey (strictly optional as contracts nowadays are signed online)
• First visit to deposit your sperm if you are using an egg donor
• Second visit when the baby is born

The cost of flight tickets vary depending on where you reside.

2) Cost to stay for a week for sperm deposit

The cost of a hotel stay for a week may range from $500 USD – $1,000 USD.

3) Cost to stay after the birth

The cost to stay after the birth primarily depends on how long you will stay in Mexico, which depends on whether you are undergoing the Amparo process or whether you have to do a DNA test to prove your genetic linkage to your child. Assuming you will find an apartment in a decent neighborhood in one of the areas popular with tourists, you should expect the following monthly cost.

• A decent 1-bedroom apartment: $2,000 – $4,000 USD / month
• Grocery, restaurant meals, other ordinary necessities: $400 – $800 USD / month
• Uber or taxi rides to medical appointments, court appointments: $200 USD / month
• Necessities for your baby: $100 – $200 USD / month (not including purchasing a crib, stroller etc.)

Hypothetical Scenarios

Let’s look at some common scenarios to calculate the total budget needed to complete a journey.

1) A single man requiring an egg donor, using a guaranteed program

Let’s say you are a single male requiring an egg donor and embryo creation. You want a guarantee of a baby, so you are going with a guaranteed program. You also want to have only your name on the birth certificate, so you will be going through the Amparo process, which will take 2 months. We’ll assume that you will use a basic egg donor included in the agency’s catalog, and let’s say twin pregnancy won’t happen because you are transferring one embryo at a time.

2) A couple who already has embryos

Let’s say you are a couple who already has several tested embryos in your own clinic in Canada. You will have to ship these embryos to the clinic in Mexico. Let’s assume that you will need 3 transfers to be successful, and the agency you want to work with includes only 2 in their package. Also, let’s assume you and your partner want to go through the Amparo process to have both of your names on the birth certificate. Let’s assume 2 month time this time.

Final Note

Every journey is unique and the cost is changing constantly (and normally upwards), so before you start your journey, make sure to look up the latest costs and budget according to your specific situations.