Surrogacy After Tubal Ligation
Potential surrogates and intended parents often ask about tubal ligation as it relates to surrogacy. Before we unravel the layers of this topic, let’s define some terms.
Tubal ligation, also referred to as having your tubes tied, is a birth control procedure that over 600,000 women in the United States choose each year. During a tubal ligation, the fallopian tubes, are cut, tied shut, or blocked. As a result, eggs are unable to travel to the uterus and sperm are unable to travel to the fallopian tubes to fertilize the egg.
A gestational carrier carries a child that is not genetically related to her for the intended parents. The embryo transferred to the gestational carrier’s uterus is created using the egg and sperm of the intended parents or a donor egg and/or sperm.
So…can a woman who has had a tubal ligation be a surrogate?
YES! In fact, this can be ideal in the world of surrogacy. Because tubal ligation is effective at preventing pregnancy almost 100 percent of the time, most women who choose to undergo this procedure have already decided that their families are complete. Generally, gestational carriers have also decided that their families are complete and want to help intended parents grow their families. Some agencies even require that gestational carriers be certain that they do not want more children because pregnancy comes with the risk of complications that could lead to the inability to have more children. Surrogacy professionals do not want anyone’s family to be adversely affected by a surrogacy journey.
What about an intended parent who has had a tubal ligation? Can their eggs be used?
Not only is it possible to transfer embryos to the uterus of someone who has had a tubal ligation, but it’s also possible to retrieve eggs from someone who has had a tubal ligation. This is because the eggs are retrieved directly from the ovaries before they would even have a chance to enter into the fallopian tube.
In short, intended parents, egg donors, and gestational carriers could all have their tubes tied (or even removed) and gestational surrogacy would still be possible because fallopian tubes aren’t involved in the egg retrieval, fertilization, or embryo transfer. Isn’t that tube-ular?