A gestational carrier is a woman who carries a child conceived from the genetic material that was not her own. The embryo is produced from an IVF cycle using the eggs and sperm from the intended mother (or an egg donor) and father (or sperm donor).
When a gestational carrier is used, the infertile couple undergoes a standard IVF cycle to produce their embryos. The resultant embryos from this IVF cycle can be transferred to the gestational carrier at the appropriate time.
In some instances, donor egg and/or donor sperm may be used by the intended parents to produce the embryo.