Can you actually complete the full IVF plus surrogacy process in Georgia on a budget of around ,000 RMB (roughly $56,000)? I wasn’t sure either when I started — quotes I received ranged anywhere from 280,000 to 550,000 RMB. It took me a while to figure out that the gap wasn’t about success rates. It was hiding in the fine print: which ovarian stimulation protocol they put you on, fresh versus frozen embryo transfer, and exactly how the surrogate’s compensation is itemized. Here’s my actual budget, line by line.
The Line Item Clinics Hope You Skip: Stimulation Meds Vary by Protocol
My AMH was 1.6 and I was 34, so the clinic put me on an antagonist protocol — 9 days of stimulation, 225 units of Gonal-f daily, 12 pens total, plus HMG and the trigger shot. Medication came to about 28,000 RMB (~$3,900). A woman I shared a room with was 38 and on a mini-stimulation protocol. She used less than half my meds and spent about 13,000 RMB — but she only retrieved 4 eggs.
Honestly, this is the most elastic part of the budget. The same person can see her medication cost double just by switching protocols.
One actionable tip: before signing, have the clinic write your stimulation protocol and estimated medication cost into the treatment plan based on your AMH and antral follicle count. Don’t accept “we’ll decide when you get here.”
Fresh or Frozen Transfer — It’s Not Just the Extra 6,000 RMB
During my stimulation cycle, my progesterone rose quickly, so the doctor recommended freezing all embryos and doing a frozen transfer two months later. That meant giving up the fresh transfer that cycle. The extra costs — freezing, thawing, and a separate endometrial preparation cycle — added up to about 6,000 RMB and 25 extra days.
Some people insist on a fresh transfer to save a few thousand, end up with a lining that isn’t ready, the implantation fails, and all that money spent on stimulation goes down the drain.
My rule is simple: if progesterone exceeds 1.0 ng/ml, or your lining doesn’t meet the criteria, don’t force a fresh transfer. Ask the clinic to give you the exact numeric thresholds for transfer. Transferring past those thresholds is basically gambling.
Partial Insurance Coverage at Home, Out of Pocket Abroad — Split the Budget Like This
A lot of people don’t realize that in some Chinese cities, part of IVF can be reimbursed through basic medical insurance — medications, testing, and some procedure fees can be covered at 30–50%. A friend of mine did her checks and stimulation locally and paid nearly 20,000 RMB less than the sticker price.
But the stimulation, embryo transfer, and surrogacy costs in Georgia? Not a single cent is reimbursable.
So I split my budget into two columns. For everything coverable at home, get it done locally before departure — every yuan saved is real money. Before leaving, list out everything you can do in China: the six-hormone panel, hysteroscopy, HSG, and similar tests. That typically saves 8,000 to 12,000 RMB.
Seven Line Items in My Surrogacy Contract, Checked One by One
Surrogacy is legal in Georgia, but contract quotes vary enormously. Mine itemized each component: surrogate compensation of about $24,000, monthly allowances during pregnancy, a prenatal and delivery medical package, embryo cryopreservation storage, a C-section surcharge, selective reduction fees for multiples, and — the one most people miss — the replacement terms if the surrogate breaches, plus the deposit refund ratio.
I once saw a couple who hadn’t written in a reduction fee. When their high-risk twin pregnancy needed one, they were hit with an unexpected $3,000 charge on the spot.
Your actionable checklist: once you get a quote, make the agency list the unit price for each of these 7 items. For any “package price,” ask exactly what it excludes. The vague item is where the extra charges will come from later.
My final total came in at 376,000 RMB — over 20,000 under estimate. Every yuan I saved came out of the contract terms and the pre-departure test checklist. If you’re running the same numbers, do two things first: get the clinic to produce your medication and transfer plan based on your actual values, and make the agency break the surrogacy quote down item by item. Once the numbers are laid out in the open, the traps get a lot easier to spot.