What is the difference between a Traditional Surrogate and Gestational Surrogate?

A Gestational Surrogate, which is the most common, is a surrogate who is not genetically connected to the child she is carrying. Her eggs are not used at all. The eggs are retrieved from the Intended Mother or an egg donor, are fertilized with the prospective father’s sperm or sperm donor in a lab.  The embryo is then transferred to the Surrogate’s womb through in vitro fertilization, or IVF.

A Traditional Surrogate is a Surrogate who donates her egg and will be the biological parent of the child she is carrying. The Surrogate is artificially inseminated with the Intended Father’s or donor sperm using a process known as intrauterine insemination, or IUI. This process allows fertilization to occur naturally.