New Protocols for Gestational Surrogacy During a Pandemic

What's going to be the "new normal" in Gestational Surrogacy after COVID-19? Let's shed some light on what we are doing at Vermont Surrogacy Network and what is happening at the IVF clinics we work with. We are all making adjustments and creating new protocols in order to reopen businesses and move forward to help you on your journey.

Within the past few weeks, many of the IVF clinics we are working with have begun to restart IVF cycles that had previously been put on hold. At this time, these clinics are now starting embryo transfer cycles with patients who have already completed the previous medical screening and legal contracts required for surrogacy.

With these cycles being started and transfers occurring, the next stage for the clinics is to start offering medical screening appointments. Vermont Surrogacy Network works with intended parents and gestational surrogates in the New England area, as well as with IVF clinics in New England. This allows our clients the ability to drive to IVF clinics, rather than needing to fly. This is proving to be very beneficial in moving our clients forward with their surrogacy journeys.

We are assisting with pre-screening for appointments and finding hotel accommodations close to the clinics that are following all of the regulations of their state to manage the risk of contamination. Surrogates will have shortened hotel stays and in many cases not need to stay at a hotel.

Additional precautions that are being made by many clinics include re-appointment questionnaires that occur 1-2 days before the appointment. These questionnaires are used to determine if the patient has an increased risk of Covid-19 exposure and if they are able to come in for the scheduled appointment. Before an embryo transfer, many clinics are also requiring COVID-19 testing to be done with the understanding that the cycle transfer will be cancelled if the surrogate is positive for COVID-19. They would then need to restart the cycle once the surrogate was no longer positive.

Clinics may have the patient wait in their vehicle until they are called into the office, which reduces exposure for all parties. The clinics are also limiting who can attend appointments, so that no unnecessary people are present. For example at the time of transfer, the intended parents might be video conferenced in through Face Time or Skype. This allows the intimacy of being present without the additional risk to everyone.

With the use of Telemedicine, video conferencing, and the additional precautions being made both at the clinic and in advance of appointments, we have found the new protocols to be very well organized and implemented. This has offered our clients the ability to move forward with their dream of becoming parents with full confidence in the process and our organization.

A huge Thank You to our clinic partners, medical staff, and essential personnel! Please remember Vermont Surrogacy Network is always available to assist with any challenges you may face, even just to help ease your mind during this challenging time. We have every confidence in our staff and that of the clinics we work with to continue to keep moving positively forward through the stress this pandemic has caused.