Parents' relationship with their surrogate in cross-border and domestic surrogacy arrangements: comparisons by sexual orientation and location

OBJECTIVE: To study heterosexual and gay couples' relationship with their surrogate and their disclosure decisions when the surrogacy arrangement was completed domestically compared with internationally. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): Participants were 40 gay couples and 76 heterosexual couples who had domestic surrogacy in the United Kingdom (UK) (n = 38) or international surrogacy in the United States (n = 58) or Asia (20). Most (75%) of the children were aged <4 years. INTERVENTION(S): Online surveys containing open-ended and multiple-choice questions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Experiences of finding a surrogate, relationship with the surrogate, and disclosure to the child were examined among UK parents who had undergone surrogacy in the UK, United States, or India/Thailand. RESULT(S): Parents who had surrogacy in the UK and United States felt very involved in the pregnancy compared with those who had surrogacy in Asia. Couples whose surrogacy was completed in Asia were less likely to want contact with their surrogate after the birth and were also less likely to have any current contact with the surrogate. Parents who had surrogacy in the UK and United States described positive relationships with their surrogate. Gay couples intended to tell their child about surrogacy more than heterosexual couples. CONCLUSION(S): The specific country where couples conducted their surrogacy arrangement (i.e. United States, UK, or Thailand/India) was associated with how involved they were in the pregnancy and their contact with the surrogate over time. Limitations of the study include use of survey methodology and that the representativeness of the sample is not known.