Become a Surrogate
“The only thing that will stop
you from fulfilling your dreams is you.”
Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley
A Gestational Surrogate is a dream come true to her Intended Parent/s – but technically, she is so much more than that.
Surrogates are healthy, dedicated women that have common characteristics. Does this sound like you? You have a:
Does this sound like you?
To be more specific – a Gestational Surrogates is a woman who carries a baby for a couple or individual (the Intended Parent/s) who cannot have a baby on their own. The Surrogate does not share any genetics with the baby. This is done with IVF using either the: egg of the Intended Mother or an Egg Donor.
At The Fertility Agency, we only work with Intended Parents who use either the Intended Mother or an Egg Donor’s eggs. Not the Gestational Surrogate – so the baby she carries is not genetically, or legally, related to her. This helps her to create clear emotional and legal boundaries
The money and compensation the Gestational Surrogate receives is for the time and efforts for trying to and then carrying the baby, and are compensated by the Intended Parents
Surrogate compensation comes in many forms including:
These fees are agreed to and protected by a legal contract signed by both the Surrogate and her Intended Parent/s. That way you have the peace of mind you need to enjoy this journey.
When the baby is born, the legal parent/s’ name/s are placed on the birth certificate. They assume all responsibility for the child.. The person (or people) who she is trying to have a baby for is called “The Intended Parent/s”
One hundred percent (100%) of our Surrogate Coordinators are former Surrogates and will understand and advocate for your needs from the first call through your pregnancy and beyond.
Sure, we’ve been around since 2004, have helped bring over 1100+ babies into the world and work in every legal state in the United States, but we are more than just the thousands of matches and babies – we are builders of dreams and fulfillers of hope – and along with you, we create miracles.
Our staff works tirelessly to make sure your journey is smooth, and that you receive all of the support you need along the way. You will have a dedicated Surrogate Coordinator, who herself is an experienced Surrogate and acts as a buddy throughout your journey. You will also have your own Case Manager who will guide you through appointments, and provide you with all of the care and support you need throughout your journey. Wonderful women like you are at the heart of our program.
We are known for our fast matching time for our Surrogates, our professionalism, and compassion. We see you not only as someone who is building a family but someone who is joining The Fertility Agency’s family, too.
So now you know what a Surrogate is, but how do you become one? Here are some requirements you need to fulfill:
The Process:
Women become Surrogates for many reasons. We have helped thousands of women fulfill their dream since 2004 and we have seen many similarities. Maybe you share some of them too!
95% say find joy in giving to others
50% regularly volunteer
50% are registered blood + organ donors
100% feel the biggest reward is helping others
75% of our Surrogates have the first-hand experience with a friend or family member’s struggle with infertility.
60%+ of our Surrogates report that the compensation will help to create a safety net for things like paying down debt or saving for their family’s future. But every single one says helping others is the biggest reward of all.
100% of our Surrogates have someone cheering them on to help others. Whether it is a partner, family member, or best friend – their inner circle is there for them.
We love getting to know women who are considering becoming a Surrogate. Rest assured know that all of your information is maintained with utmost privacy.
To get started:
Your heart is big, but we want to make sure you are ready for this big step. So, start by filling out a short application.
After we receive you application, one of our Surrogate Coordinators (all of them are former Surrogates) will call you and answer all of your questions and take you through the journey steps and what you will need to do. If we all move forward, you will fill out a more detailed profile.
There is a little homework if you want to get a head start. You will need to reach out to your OB(s) and get:
If we think you are a good fit with our agency and you feel the same, we will also run a background check on you (and possibly your partner) during this time.
This is a very exciting time in your journey. Who will you be helping? Are they a same-sex couple, live in another country, is it a sibling journey? It may surprise you but this is a two-way matching process. Not only do you match with an Intended Parent/s but they also match with you.
Intended Parents typically look for someone healthy and stable that they feel they can comfortably work with during this special journey.
So how long will it take? From the time you complete your application process, it could take a week, a month, or a little longer to find the right match for you. We pride ourselves on making good fits for everyone.
Once we think we have a good fit, we will show you the Intended Parent/s’ profile and they will also see yours.
If you like what you’ve learned and the Intended Parent/s feel the same way, we’ll schedule a Zoom chat with the agency, the Intended Parent/s, you, and your partner (if you have one).
Our job will be to break the ice between everyone and help make your first meeting go smoothly. And if all goes well…Congratulations, you’re matched!
You are then assigned your own Case Manager who will assist you with all the logistics of your journey, and who will be an active team member throughout helping guide you every step of the way.
Once matched, you will meet with a licensed psychologist (that specializes in surrogacy) and they will help ensure that you understand the commitment being a Surrogate takes and that you are emotionally prepared to proceed.
Most Surrogates find the meeting to be both helpful and informative. During the session, you will also discuss your feelings about surrogacy, your motivations, and your support system.
Sometimes your husband or partner will be asked to join. The Intended Parent/s’ may also talk with the therapist.
The therapist may have you fill out an MMPI or PAI (a personality inventory), which can take up to an hour.
Easy-peasy. Oh yes, the Intended Parent/s will pay for the psychological screening.
Even though your medical records will have already been reviewed by your Intended Parent/s’ fertility doctor (aka Reproductive Endocrinologist, aka RE), the doctor will want to do an up-to-date, in-person medical evaluation. This may require traveling for you if you do not live near the clinic – which is most often the case.
Your Case Manager will arrange for your travel and it will be paid for through the Intended Parent/s’ escrow account. Your partner will only need to have blood work done to screen for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV, but you’ll have additional blood tests and cultures, and a gynecological exam. The Reproductive Endocrinologist will determine if other tests are necessary. If your partner cannot attend the medical screening, he can have his blood work done at a lab near to his home or work.
Once done, you will receive medical clearance from the RE.
After receiving medical clearance, the next step is to review and sign the contract.
The contract between you and your Intended Parent/s is a necessary part because:
It may sound overwhelming, but you will have your own lawyer (that specializes in surrogacy contracts) to work with you and go over everything in the contract and make sure you understand it and are on board with what is in it.
Your Case Manager will provide you with a lawyer who is knowledgeable about reproductive laws in the state in which you will give birth. Attorney fees are paid by the Intended Parents.
Once contracts are signed, you will have legal clearance and your monthly allowance will begin.
Even though getting pregnant was a piece of cake for you in the past, this pregnancy will start out very differently.
There will be a medical calendar issued once contracts are signed, and then your body will be hormonally prepared to make it ready for the embryo to be transferred to your uterus. This involves medication and a few monitoring appointments at a local clinic for bloodwork to make sure your body is absorbing the hormones properly, and ultrasounds to check that your uterine lining is getting thick (that’s what we want!).
The clinic will give you instructions for how to take the medication and the agency will also be there to support you should you need it. The Intended Parent/s’ clinic will be in touch with the monitoring clinic to make sure everything is going smoothly and to their specifications.
If all goes according to plan, next, you will travel to the family’s clinic for the embryo transfer.
While you definitely know how to get pregnant the traditional way, an embryo transfer (aka ET), is more like a Pap smear.
Surrogates describe the embryo transfer as pain-free. In most cases, a single embryo is transferred through a catheter to your uterus and you will go back home or to a hotel to rest for approximately a day.
Each doctor has a slightly different protocol and the contract will specify that you treat the doctor’s instructions seriously - and of course, you will!
Your contract will cover all such eventualities as the need for childcare, lost wages, etc., so you will never have to worry about money to meet your surrogacy obligations.
After the transfer, you will probably have to wait a week to 10 days for your first beta test (that is a blood test that determines whether you are pregnant).
Like many Surrogates, you may be excited to find out if you are pregnant before you do the blood work. Certain Surrogates go out and buy home pregnancy tests (HPTs). If you do, please remember they are called “evil pee sticks” for a reason – that is because they are not always accurate. You can be pregnant even if they say you are not. So, remember to continue all prescribed medications no matter what the HPT tells you.
On the day your doctor determines, you will go to a local lab, have your blood drawn, and hopefully be getting that great news later the same day – YOU'RE PREGNANT!
After your positive beta, the clinic will have you do a few more blood tests. Then, a couple of weeks later you will have an ultrasound at the monitoring clinic to make sure the fetus is developing properly.
Until about 10 weeks into the pregnancy you will continue to do medications and be overseen by the RE. When your own body starts taking over and produces the hormones without medication, you will be released to your very own OB, and from this point forward it will be like your typical pregnancies…except there are Intended Parent/s and an agency to support you.
At this point in the journey is when communication usually picks with you and your Intended Parent/s.
Often Surrogates like to communicate with updates, belly bump pictures, etc. Some IPs and GSs like to text, others Zoom or use the phone. There’s no right or wrong way - in time you will find the right amount and type of communication that works for all of you.
And let’s not forget your family – this truly is a family affair with your kids and husband or partner or extended family forming bonds and joining in the joyous thing you are doing.
Our role during your surrogacy is to give you all the support you need. We want to be there for you, but we don’t want to smother you either. You will have a Case Manager who will help with all the logistics from travel to payments and a Surrogate Coordinator. The Surrogate Coordinator is someone you can speak with as a peer — she’s an experienced Surrogate and can often offer you insider insight and advice.
Our agency also offers an online chat group to share your experiences, ask questions, offer support and become friends with other Surrogates. This chat room is solely for Gestational Surrogates who are working with our agency.
This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Even if your Intended Parent/s live halfway around the world, they will do everything in their power to be there for the birth.
But maybe you are wondering how the birth is going to go with all of the people involved. About halfway through the pregnancy, the agency will have helped create a “birth plan” with you and your IPs. It will outline who will be in the delivery room and where people will stand, who will cut the umbilical cord, etc.
Once born, your family will most likely want to meet the baby and of course, you will want to say goodbye and wish him/her well.
While everyone may have a plan for communication after the baby is born, it often depends on how the communication during the journey went. In almost all cases people stay in touch via Facebook, WhatsApp or FaceTime and sometimes get together as the baby grows — even with great distances.
You will have changed lives for both the parents and the baby and that is a gift that is immeasurable! You are a super star!
Not only has The Fertility Agency been helping create families since 2004 (that’s a lot of years!) and brought over 1000 babies into the world (that’s a lot of families!) but when you join our family, we continuously work to make this one of the most positive and memorable experiences of your life.
We provide whatever you need – we will support, guide and hold your hand through every step of this journey and beyond. We work with our Intended Parents to educate them in what your needs will be along the way, help facilitate conversations, and if something comes up that you find difficult to address – that’s what we’re there for.
We offer a comprehensive and flexible Compensation Package to all of our Surrogates, and you get to customize just how much you will get compensated. Things that will figure into the compensation amount will be based on your health insurance, state of residence and of course experience.
Working with an agency is an advantage to all of the parties involved, (especially the Surrogate), since we provide the support, guidance, experience and care from start to finish. We will help and advocate for your needs, bridge communication for topics that may be harder to discuss, offer assistance with the legal aspects and of course handle all of your payments so you can focus on the joy of being pregnant.
Health insurance does play a big part in this journey.
If you already have health insurance, you will need to supply a link or a current copy of the EOC (Evidence of Coverage) booklet and we will have an insurance specialist review your plan to determine if surrogacy is covered.
Don’t assume that surrogacy is not covered based on the language – it can be tricky. An insurance expert will make the final determination.
If surrogacy is covered under your current health insurance plan, you will be entitled to a higher base fee.
If your insurance excludes surrogacy or you do not have health insurance, it will not be a problem. Once you become a Surrogate in our program, we will find a plan that offers surrogacy coverage specific to your needs (location, preferred hospital, and so on).
The best part is, your Intended Parents will pay for all the costs associated with the review and the new insurance if needed.
We've found most of our Surrogates surround themselves with generous and amazing friends, just like themselves! And they often want to share this great experience with others. If you have a friend that might be interested in becoming or learning more about surrogacy, please don’t hesitate to connect us with them. We love getting Surrogate candidate referrals from our current and past Surrogates. After all, no one knows better than you how truly rewarding it is to be a Gestational Surrogate.
And of course we offer a referral fee for each friend you connect to us. Reach out and find out more.
Yes, you can still be a Surrogate if your tubes are tied. To be a Surrogate you physically only need a healthy uterus. You do not need your ovaries or tubes, since the egg will be coming from the Intended Mother or an Egg Donor.
While we understand that everyone’s situation is different, one of our requirements is that you are not enrolled in certain government programs. Not all government assistance programs are restricted, but you should know that reimbursements received while you are a Gestational Surrogate could possibly make you ineligible for certain government benefits.
Reach out to discuss this with one of our GS Coordinators.
Great! We are excited to get to know you. On your end, you just sit back and relax.
On our end, a Surrogate Coordinator (they’re all successful former Surrogates) will reach out to you to schedule an informational phone call to answer your questions and go over what being a Surrogate involves. If the Surrogate Coordinator has any questions about your application, or you don’t fit the requirements, we will also reach out to you and let you know if there is anything you can do to improve your chances of becoming a Surrogate.
Each IVF clinic sets their own requirement for Surrogates including the desired BMI – your height and weight ratio. Some clinics won’t accept anyone over a BMI of 30, while others will accept up to 33.
For women between 30 – 33 BMI you will be required to obtain documentation from your doctor (or nurse) to confirm your stated height and weight. If you’re not at your ideal BMI (but you are close and working on it) you can still sign up and get started.
Reach out to one of our GS Coordinators to talk about this.
Everyone is entitled to their personal position on selective reduction.
Selective Reduction is when the Intended Parents and you may select to transfer more than one embryo and then one of them possibly splits. In that case, the risks are higher for you and the babies and the Intended Parents may want to reduce one of the fetuses so that it is healthier for all of you.
This is something the agency can and will discuss with both you and your Intended Parent/s before a match is made.
Most Intended Parents do try to avoid this situation where there is a chromosomal abnormality with the fetus by doing genetic testing on the embryos when they are created. But even so, most Intended Parents want the option to terminate if there are serious issues with the fetus.
Therefore, it is difficult to find a match for a Gestational Surrogate that will not leave this final decision to the Parent/s of the baby. Every now and then we do have a couple that might not want to terminate if something comes up.
Please reach out to us if you have questions on this topic (or any other).
Yes, you can. Fill out a questionnaire, and begin the screening process. Then, once you are ready to stop breastfeeding you can be matched right away.
Reach out and we can discuss your plans.
You will need to discuss it and get clearance from your own Obstetrician, but in most cases you can get started 3 months after a vaginal birth and 6 months (for some doctors up to a year) after a C-section.
If you recently gave birth and are interested in surrogacy, feel free to contact us to discuss your timeline and get started with the initial screening process.
Postpartum depression that is treated by anti-depressants (in most cases) is not seen as a deterrent for becoming a Gestational Surrogate, as long as the time you take the meds is short and you are able to go off of them without issue. You must be off of them for at least 6 -12 months in most cases before you can be matched.
We know that everyone hits bumps along the way, and taking anti-depressants does not disqualify you from being a Surrogate -- although you will need to have been off of them for 6 months to a year and we will need to know the circumstances which led you to take them and if you have taken steps to resolve it.
While being a Surrogate is a calling for many women, sometime others do not understand their desire. We are not concerned if your mother-in-law or neighbor supports you, but if you have a significant other we do require s/he understands and supports your journey since this is a family affair!
Learn more about our Surrogate support services.
While there are many factors that can determine your compensation base fee, for example:
You can still can customize a package that fits your needs. So, if you’d prefer to leave that question blank when filling out your profile, we are more than happy to talk to you about what fee is right for your circumstances.
No matter what, we want you to get the amount you feel you deserve and we will match any other agency’s fees.
We are experts at finding the right match for both you and your Intended Parent/s. Using our TrueMatch™ system, we have a stellar 99% success rate on our matches. We take your desires and theirs into consideration in finding the right match for you using:
While you come into this as strangers, your relationship will grow and many even become lifelong friends.
We’d love to match you quickly but first we need you to fill out a short application, have an informational chat with a Surrogate Coordinator, fill out a more detailed application and finally send us all of your OB and birth records for each pregnancy along with pay stubs, insurance policy (if you have one) and an OB clearance note that says you are cleared for another pregnancy. That’s it!
Yes, we have many international Intended Parents. They come here because the laws in their own country do not support surrogacy and those in the US are very favorable. This makes them ever so grateful to their Surrogate since they can’t do it at home.
And yes! They all want to be here in the US by your side (or outside the room if you prefer that) when their baby is born! We encourage Intended Parents to come weeks (or sometimes longer) before the birth to ensure they don’t miss this very joyous event.
Our motto is: No Surrogate should ever be out any money when they are helping others create a family.
We promise that all of your expenses (including medical, legal, lost wages and more) will be paid for by the Intended Parents. Your expenses will be gone over with you by the agency before you are matched and will be included in your contract with the Intended Parents. We want to make sure you are always protected.
In most cases, you may have to abstain from sex 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the embryo transfer.
Some clinics require that you wait until the heartbeat is seen on ultrasound (about 5 weeks after the embryo transfer) before you are free to resume your normal sexual activities.
Unlike your other pregnancies, you will start taking hormones to prepare your body and “trick” it into thinking it is ready to get pregnant. After the embryo transfer, you will stay on the hormones (until about 10 weeks into the pregnancy) when your body starts producing those pregnancy hormones on its own.
So, the getting there part will be quite different, but the being pregnant part will be the same once you reach the first trimester.
We want all of your needs and concerns to be addressed, and one of the ways is to make sure you have good legal representation when signing the contract with your Intended Parents. The agency will recommend an attorney in your home state that that specializes in surrogacy contracts to represent you. Your attorney fees will be paid for by the Intended Parents.
Nope. But even if they did, the contract protects you and you will have no legal or financial responsibilities for the baby. The agency is always there to take care of you and your needs.
Each person that works on The Fertility Agency team comes with their own personal experiences in creating families. In fact, 100% of our GS Coordinators have been a surrogate at least once, and every one of our Case Managers has had (or will need) help in creating their own family. Our hearts are invested in your journey.
We’re so excited to learn that you’re interested in applying to our program to become a Surrogate. Your first step is to make sure you meet all the requirements. Next, you will fill out a short online questionnaire, this takes about 5 minutes and you can do it from your phone! Then, one of our Surrogate Coordinators will contact you and if you qualify, we will send the paperwork to get started. Simple, right?
We’d love to match you quickly but first we need you to fill out a short application, have an informational chat with a Surrogate Coordinator, fill out a more detailed application and finally send us all of your OB and birth records for each pregnancy along with pay stubs, insurance policy (if you have one) and an OB clearance note that says you are cleared for another pregnancy. That’s it!
Ready to get started? Want to learn more? Have questions?
There’s no pressure or commitment when you reach out.