The Process of Surrogacy
If you meet the requirements to become a surrogate; you can then move forward with finding parents to match with. There are a few ways to find a match, you can look independently, which means you find parents yourself and navigate the journey without the assistance of an agency, or you can sign up to work with an agency to help you find a good match. An agency will also help you through each step of the surrogacy process, from finding a good match, becoming medically cleared, navigating the legal contracts, helping you book your travel for embryo transfer, making sure you have health insurance in place to cover the surrogacy, etc.
There is a lot to know about having a successful surrogacy journey, so having a great agency help you through the process can be a real benefit. The agency I went through for my second surrogacy journey is called Your Fertility Advocate , their team is very hands on and really spends the time to get to know each and every surrogate in the program. They spend a lot of time finding out what is important to you and what you are looking for in a match. I highly recommend them if you are looking to go the agency route! However they are a boutique agency and only take on 60 surrogates a year. To help with matching quicker with IP’s, I co-founded Make Families, we are a service that connects surrogates with trustworthy, vetted agencies. We only work with agencies that follow strict protocols to protect you and ensure you have the best experience possible — just like I did!
personality.
Application: The initial application will likely ask you some general questions about yourself and your reasons for pursuing surrogacy; it will also include questions about your lifestyle, family, health history and even your personality.
Interview: After submitting the initial application, you will be contacted by a surrogacy agency team member who will schedule a phone or video call to meet you personally before proceeding to next steps. The team member will go over the next steps in the surrogacy process and this is also a great time to get your own questions about surrogacy answered. You can ask the agency about the potential parents you could match with, and what you can expect during the screening process.
Background check: The agency will run a background check on yourself and your partner (if applicable). They are looking for big red flags like a recent DUI or things of that nature.
Medical examination: You will be required to meet with a fertility specialist for a physical exam and blood work to ensure your suitability for surrogacy. The doctor will go over your former pregnancy and delivery records during this meeting and also describe what you can expect from the surrogacy and embryo transfer process.
Mental health evaluation: You will meet with a mental health care professional (most likely over video chat) to ensure that you fully understand the emotional impact of surrogacy and to determine that you are psychologically ready for the challenges of surrogate motherhood.
