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| The Medical Side of Screening | After the psychological screening, there is the medical part of this process included in order to choose a woman, who will be able to become a good surrogate mother. The tests the potential surrogate will have to make may vary to some extend from one reproductive endocrinologist to another. Therefore, all these tests are pretty close to the same thing.
If you want to become a surrogate mother, you should keep in mind that some reproductive endocrinologists would ask you to meet with them in person in order to have the testing conducted, however, it may be OK with others, if you make all the necessary tests in your local clinic and have the results of the tests faxed back to the reproductive endocrinologist. Anyway, this is the topic to be discussed with your doctor, as well as wit the couple of intended parents, you are going to work, with because they may have a say, as money are concerned here. There are also cases, when visiting the reproductive endocrinologist will save money, as these doctors usually do all the tests all the time, as it is opposed to the doctors of your local clinics, who may not do them often at all. And again, it is different form one place to another one.
Anyway, let us start. You are to be at some certain point in your menstrual cycle, somewhere between days 3rd and 7th in order to provide maximum accuracy for some of the required tests. The usual blood tests would include CBC (which stands for complete blood count), blood group as well as type and RH factor, HIV – 1, HIV – 2, HIVp24 Ag, HTLV 1, HTLV – 2, hepatitis B (antibodies, as well as surface antigen), hepatitis C antibody, FSH, prolactin, free testosterone, VDRL (which stands for syphilis)/ RPR, and cystic fibrosis. It should be mentioned, that in case if you have a positive result in herpes test, it does not mean that you will be excluded at all. Besides, there are also cervical swabs, which are C&S Group B Strep, C&S Gonorrhea, Microplasma and Ureaplasma cultures, as well as Chlamydia Culture. It is also possible that you may have to take a drug and nicotine test, as well as some definite hormone tests for your thyroid gland. As a rule a hysterosalpingram, which is known as Hysteroscopy as well, is also to be conducted, as it is considered to be one of the most common ways to find out if there are no masses inside your uterus.
In addition, there may be women from some definite ethnic groups, who will have to be screened for such things as Jewish – Tay Sachs Screen, African Americans – Sickle Cell Screen, etc.
As soon as you have undergone the complete medical testing, and when the results are received, then it comes to your husband or boyfriend, in case if there is any, to undergo tests, which include tests for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, HTLV – 1, syphilis and he is also to make a urine drug screen.
It is also necessary to point out that none of the testing, mentioned above, is either to be covered by your insurance, or should be paid for by you. The couple of intended parents, you are matched with or the surrogacy agency, you are collaborating with is to be the ones, getting the bills for all of these tests, and they are to pay for all of them.
You should also remember, that as a rule the time frame for receiving the results of any of these tests should only be a couple of days to maximum one week, however, some of them can even be obtained the same day. In case if your husband or boyfriend, if there is any, happens to be serving duty overseas, then it is quite possible for you, as for being a potential surrogate mother as well as for the couple of intended parents to sign an waiver stating that he is not able to be tested at this time, but he will undergo all the necessary tests as soon as possible, when he gets back stateside.
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