Dear Surrogate,
Thank you for contacting us about our Surrogacy Program at ARTparenting. Your interest in helping someone become a parent is a generous choice and a serious decision, and we want you to have all the facts.
As respected professionals in the surrogacy field, we are proud of our 28-plus years of experience, our high standards, our reputation for integrity, and most importantly — the amazing surrogates we have worked with one-on-one to build new families.
We believe strongly in the work we do. Gestational surrogacy is a joyful way to form a family. The surrogate herself is the key — and with that in mind, we are devoted to making the process as safe, comfortable, smooth, and rewarding for you as possible. Should you choose to work with ARTparenting, we’ll be with you every step of the way.
How We Work Together: An Overview
#1 THE PHONE MEETING
We will welcome you with an initial phone meeting so we can get to know one another and review the process together. Some of the topics we will cover in addition to the steps involved are: the timing, your preferences for intended parents, the total payments you will receive including the base compensation and other fees and reimbursed expenses. This is a perfect time to get your questions answered without any obligation to proceed
#2 THE APPLICATION
You will need you to complete an application form to help us learn as much as possible about you as a potential surrogate, and what your preferences are in a match with the intended parent(s). You can access the short initial application here and the full application here. (The full PDF application is for applicants who have already spoken to our surrogacy coordinator.) Please call or email us if you need help to complete it.
#3 PRE-SCREENING
Intended parents are waiting for you!
As soon as we receive your application, we will immediately proceed with the pre-screening. The pre-screening step is vitally important to ensure that we have all the information we need to find the very best fit for you and the intended parent(s) who is ready and waiting to be matched.
The pre-screening includes: having your prenatal and delivery records sent to us (and any prior IVF records if you are a repeat surrogate or have already undergone this screening), having your OB complete a medical clearance form we provide, an insurance review, and a psychological evaluation.
For the psychological evaluation, we will refer you to a qualified mental health professional. Good physical and mental health is important for any surrogacy arrangement to ensure it is healthy and safe for you; we follow the requisite guidelines to make sure that all of our surrogates and intended parents meet all prescreening guidelines. By carefully following these guidelines requiring these evaluations, we are protecting the interests of all concerned and maximizing the chances of a successful and trouble-free surrogacy experience.
#4 THE MATCH
Immediately after the pre-screen is complete, we will match you with the intended parent(s) you most want to help. This may be with intended parent(s) in your area, or it may mean working with intended parent(s) from another state or another country. Ultimately, the goal is to find the ideal match for everyone.
We’ll review your preferences, learn what you and the intended parent(s) are looking for in a match, and get to know each person individually. We will make a recommendation for a potential match based on who we believe will work beautifully together and why we think so.
You will have the opportunity to learn more about the potential parent(s) and they will review your application. Once everyone has agreed they may be a good fit, we arrange for a meeting between you, your spouse or partner (if you have one), the intended parent(s), and Meryl. Depending on location and convenience, you may meet in person or by videoconference. This introductory session gives everyone a chance to get acquainted, to ask questions of each other, and to learn more about the next steps. Most importantly, the meeting is designed to make sure everyone is comfortable working together. This is a partnership between you and the intended parent(s), so it must be a mutual decision to proceed together. Only when everyone feels satisfied and comfortable partnering together will we move on to the next phase.
#5 THE MEDICAL EVALUATION
Once you and the intended parent(s) have decided to work together, you will be medically screened in person by the intended parent’s fertility center. The screening will be arranged with the fertility center in accordance with your schedule. We will assist in making any travel arrangements for this appointment, which may require an overnight stay depending on how close you live to the intended parent’s fertility center. Your partner or spouse may need to attend these appointments too, depending on the IVF center’s requirements. Usually, you will not have to return to that IVF center until it is time for the embryo transfer. For any monitoring that is necessary during your cycle, we will help locate the right facility near you. There is no international travel needed when our surrogates work with intended parents from other countries. During the screening appointment, the medical practice will review their particular protocol for the IVF process, including the administration of medications. You will also undergo any required blood work, and other testing needed to proceed.
#6 THE LEGAL PHASE
Of course, surrogacy is a legal arrangement as well as a personal and a medical one, requiring a written agreement that addresses the commitments, roles, and duties of everyone involved. You will not be asked to sign anything until you are comfortable with the obligations outlined in the surrogacy agreement. Further, you will review the agreement with your own attorney at no cost to you. This way, everyone is assured of having their legal rights explained, understood, and protected. Any legal costs involved in this are 100% covered by the intended parents. Once the surrogacy agreement is signed by all parties, we can proceed with the actual embryo transfer process — what everyone has been waiting for! (Later in the process and usually before the birth, our office will handle and/or coordinate any necessary court proceeding or administrative process to finalize the legal recognition of the intended parent(s) as the sole legal parent(s) of the child.
#7 THE MEDICAL PHASE
Medication, Embryo Transfer, Pregnancy, Birth With gestational surrogacy, a fertilized embryo is implanted in the gestational surrogate’s uterus. The embryo is formed through in vitro fertilization (IVF) using the egg of the intended parent or an egg donor and the sperm of the intended parent or sperm donor. This means the child will not be genetically related to you.
MEDICATION The medical phase starts with a period of medication that is usually self-administered by injection and/or orally in order to prepare your uterine lining for the embryo transfer. Most practices will ask that you be on birth control pills for a period of time, usually starting at the time of your match. You will be taught how to do any injections by the medical practice.
EMBRYO TRANSFER In most situations, frozen embryos are used so there is no need to coordinate cycles. You will still be self-administering medications to prepare your uterine lining for the embryo transfer. Less frequently, your cycle may be synchronized with the intended mother’s or egg donor’s cycle using medication. With a coordinated cycle, when the physician determines that the time is right, eggs are retrieved from the intended mother or egg donor; they are fertilized in-vitro (in a laboratory); and the resulting embryo is transferred into your uterus. As with screening, for any necessary travel, our office will make the arrangements together with you and the intended parent(s). The intended parent(s) will be financially responsible for all transportation and travel needs.
PREGNANCY Once you are pregnant, be assured that your pregnancy will be followed by a physician located close to your own home, and convenient to where the delivery is expected to take place (many will use their current OB and deliver where they have in the past, and in any case with the physician and delivery hospital in-network of the applicable health insurance).
BIRTH Any children born as a result of the surrogacy become the sole responsibility of the intended parent(s) upon birth.
EVERY ARRANGEMENT IS UNIQUE
Each surrogacy arrangement is as unique as the individuals involved. Should you decide to proceed with our Surrogacy Program, we look forward to accompanying you on a wonderful journey. Surrogacy is all about making someone’s dream of parenthood come true — and you can be the key to that dream.
Please feel free to contact us at 301-217-0074 to ask questions or to start the journey together.
In the meantime, please accept my thanks, and that of so many would-be parents, for considering becoming a surrogate for someone.
Warmly,
Meryl B. Rosenberg, Esq.
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Read what our gestational surrogates have to say about ARTparenting