Dr. Walid Saleh and the team at the Center for Reproductive Endocrinology in Dallas are dedicated to bringing the gift of parenthood to as many patients as possible. Meet the friendly, caring people who work hard every day to provide excellent, individualized fertility care to their patients. Please visit: https://dallasfertilitycenter.com/our-center/meet-the-team/dr-walid-saleh/

1. Alternative Family Building: What is right for
you?
Learn more about your options to build your family.
Everyone’s journey to becoming a family is unique. Some go the traditional route – fall
in love, get married, have a baby – while others take a more circuitous road. Many
people who explore alternative family building options do so because infertility has
made getting pregnant the old fashioned way virtually impossible. For them, donor eggs
or sperm, a surrogate, or adoption can be the key to fulfilling their dream of family.
Dr. Walid Saleh of SIRM Dallas in Dallas, Texas discusses the benefits of
alternative family building.
Egg & Sperm Donation
Hearing the news that donor eggs or sperm is your best option for having a baby can be
surprising, and bring up many emotions. Many people consider a biological connection
to their child extremely important, and realizing it’s not an option is hard to overcome.
While it’s an extremely personal decision, people who have become parents this way
say that pregnancy creates an unbreakable sense of connection to the baby – so much

2. so that they can’t imagine feeling closer even if there was more of a genetic link. As with
any pregnancy, you will feel your bond grow with each flutter and kick, you will be the
first to hold your child, and you will have a lifetime of love with the child that you brought
into the world.
Surrogacy
Sometimes, the challenge in becoming pregnant has nothing to do with the egg or
sperm but with the uterus. Women who are unable to carry a healthy pregnancy to term
often consider using a surrogate, or gestational carrier. Your surrogate can be someone
you know, or a surrogacy agency can help you choose someone.
There are two types of surrogacy. With traditional surrogacy the surrogate becomes
pregnant using her own egg, which is fertilized by the intended father’s sperm or a
sperm donor. This type of surrogate is genetically linked to the child. A gestational
carrier, however, has no biological relation to the child. The use of gestational carriers is
much more common. An IVF-created embryo – using an egg from the intended mother
and sperm from the intended father – is transferred to the carrier. The entire process,
from beginning to bundle of joy, typically takes 14 to 18 months.
If you’d like more information about surrogacy, please contact Dr. Walid, Saleh at SIRM
Dallas. You can ask your questions here.
Adoption
Many people seeking to build their family choose adoption. Just as with donors and
surrogacy, coming to terms with the fact that you’re not having a child in the way you
initially hoped can be challenging. And once you do make the decision to adopt it can
be fraught with fears and concerns:
What if the birth mother changes her mind at the last minute?
What if I don’t bond with the child?
What if I love my biological child more than my adopted child?
Can we afford it?
How will we handle questions from our child later in life?
These are all valid concerns, however most adoptive parents report that the concerns
all fall away the moment they meet their child. Of course there will be challenges along
the way, just as there are challenges with raising any child, but the intense love and
devotion you’ll feel outweighs everything else. Be sure to work with a reputable adoption

3. agency, they can provide support and helpful resources as you travel your path to
parenthood.
While alternative family building may not be how you initially imagined creating your
family, many patients who have gone down this path are extremely happy with their
decision. If you think donors or surrogacy could be right for you we invite you to
schedule an appointment with Dr. Saleh at SIRM Dallas, request an
appointment here or call 972-566-6686.