We're here to answer the most often-asked questions concerning genetics and surrogacy, which may be divided into four categories:
Genetic relationship questions
Concerns regarding blood
Concerns about DNA inheritance
Concerns regarding the baby's physical appearance
You can always reach out to a surrogacy professional to learn everything there is to know about surrogacy. Continue reading this guide to obtain answers to these often-asked surrogacy questions.
1. GENETIC RELATIONSHIP QUESTIONS
"Do the surrogate mothers have any relation to the baby?"
"Can a surrogate mother be considered the biological mother?"
"Does a surrogate mother have any genetic ties to the child?"
The most frequently asked question concerning the surrogacy process is, "Is the baby connected to the surrogate?" The answer is dependent on the sort of surrogacy in question.
Everything you need to know is as follows: It all boils down to who uses the egg, not the uterus.
In traditional surrogacy, the response is "yes." (which is rare nowadays due to the legal and emotional complexity involved). The biological mother of the baby carried for the intending parents is a traditional surrogate. She creates the embryo with her egg and either donor or intended father's sperm which means she is genetically linked to the infant. As a result, conventional surrogacy is frequently more legally similar to adoption.
Gestational surrogacy is unique. The answer is "no" in gestational surrogacy, the preferred and more popular modern surrogacy method. Gestational surrogates have no biological relationship to the babies they carry. IVF is used to develop an embryo from egg and sperm donated by donors or intended parents, which is subsequently transferred to the uterus of the gestational surrogate to be birthed. Because the baby isn't biologically theirs, gestational surrogates typically refer to the experience as "extreme babysitting."
Above all, remember that the kid born through surrogacy is always genetically related to the person whose egg and sperm were used to generate the embryo.
2. Concerns regarding blood
"Do surrogate mothers share the baby's blood?"
"Is it necessary for a surrogate to be of the same blood type as the child she is carrying?"
Some people ask this question literally, while others inquire about "blood" in the context of family relationships. Again, only conventional surrogates are biologically connected to the infants they carry, making them "blood" relatives. Gestational surrogates with whom you (as an intended parent) match are not "blood" relatives to the infants they carry — they have no biological link to your child.
If surrogates share blood with the kid in the womb, the answer is yes. During pregnancy, the pregnant woman's blood, oxygen, and nutrients are delivered to the baby via the umbilical cord. The surrogate's blood type is irrelevant; many genetic moms and their children have different blood types.
However, before the surrogacy procedure begins, blood tests and rigorous medical screenings are required to check for infectious diseases, as those problems could be transmitted from the carrier to the fetus during pregnancy
3. Concerns about DNA inheritance
"Does the DNA of a surrogate mother carry on to the child?"
"Does a surrogate mother share the baby's DNA?"
"Do surrogates provide DNA?"
Many individuals are perplexed by how genes (which are formed by DNA sequences) are inherited and how surrogacy may play a role in this. First, some genetics fundamentals: To form an embryo, you need both male genetic material (sperm holding that person's DNA) and female genetic material (an egg containing that person's DNA).
Regardless of which uterus the embryo is gestated in, the genetic material will solely come from the two people who formed the embryo. In genetic inheritance, the egg and sperm are all that matter. However, if you kiss someone, they will not immediately receive your DNA and become connected to you. Similarly, donating blood does not make the receiver your relative.
Even if an embryo is implanted in another woman's womb, it will not "take up" that woman's DNA.
4. Concerns regarding the baby's physical appearance
"Can a child resemble the surrogate mother?"
"Does the child resemble the surrogate mother?"
"Can newborns resemble their surrogate?"
"Does a surrogacy baby resemble its parents?"
If a baby born through surrogacy looks like anyone, it will be the two persons who contributed the egg and sperm.
So, if the surrogate is typical (meaning she provided the egg and carried the baby), the infant will look like her. However, if the surrogate is a gestational surrogate (meaning the embryo was created using another woman's egg), the infant will not look like the surrogate.
If the intended parents provide their eggs and sperm, the kid will most likely resemble them. However, a child is not guaranteed to enjoy their genetic parents.
If the embryo were created using an egg donor and a sperm donor, the newborn would resemble those two people.
The egg and sperm donors, not the uterus that harbors the baby, impact the infant's appearance.
FINALLY, WHO ARE THE CHILD'S TRUE PARENTS?
Who are the "actual" parents of a child born through surrogacy? Biologically, the answer is the two individuals who provided the egg and sperm.
However, some intended parents require the assistance of egg and sperm donors to conceive their kids, which means one or both. This usage of donor gametes makes no difference in family bonds.
Adoption demonstrates that a child's "actual" parents are the ones who read bedtime tales, give Band-Aids and embraces, and show up to every soccer game. Surrogacy and other "non-traditional" family-building methods are no exception in this regard.
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