Posts Tagged ‘Surrogacy process’

Surrogacy 101- Medical Process Choosing a Clinic

Posted on: February 11th, 2012 by Simple Surrogacy No Comments

Surrogacy 101- Medical Process Choosing a Clinic

Choosing your clinic is one of the most important factors in your journey to parenthood. Picking the wrong clinic can mean a bad experience, and ultimately you could spend thousands on the IVF treatments and never become pregnant.

The first thing many people look at when choosing a clinic is their success rates. One useful resource is a federal database kept by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that contains the success rates of fertility centers around the country. The statistics are updated every few years, so check the date. Keep in mind that some fertility centers that looked great several years ago may have had high staff turnover and declined in quality. It is important to verify that the main staff, such as doctors and technicians are the same ones that earned those high success rates. Numbers should not be your only consideration, but the numbers give you a place to start.

You should not choose a Center based solely on its statistics, but be sure that the clinic you are choosing has a high rate above the national average. At Simple Surrogacy, our experience with many clinics all over the nation and our high pregnancy success rates with those clinic gives us the distinct advantage of insight as we help you choose a clinic. We know which clinics and doctors are the most successful, and the easiest to work with. We can guise you to the clinic that will not only be the most successful, but that also will be easy and pleasant to work with.

You should be confident of the Doctor’s experience, and how long he has been performing the procedures that will affect your case there. You should also be given full attention while at the clinic and not feel like just a number. You will need to be comfortable, relaxed and confident in the clinic and their ability to help you achieve a pregnancy. You will want to have access to the staff when you have a question, and have a prompt response when a problem or concern arises. Simple Surrogacy Staff have personally visited the clinics that we refer to most,. And we have spoken to the doctors and toured their facilities, so we can fully attest to the quality of the care they offer.

Another important factor for many people when choosing a clinic is cost. The clinics we work with offer preferred rates to our clients because we refer to them so often. In most cases, we can save you off the normal IVF costs simply by being our client! In considering costs, you’ll want to consider what is included and what is additional. Some factors to consider are the costs of fertility drugs, which can cost thousands of dollars; ICSI; assistedembryo hatching; embryo cryopreservation; and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). These drugs and procedures can quickly increase the overall cost for treatment.

We’ve all heard the scary stories about embryos ending up in the wrong womb or ugly legal disputes over someone’s frozen eggs. To be sure you don’t become the next reproductive-technology headline, check that the clinic has good quality control and strong ethics. Simple Surrogacy has been working with our referral clinics for many years now, and we are confident in recommending them and have never had an ethics issue or violation with any clinic we refer to.

In short, as it is a very personal experience, you will need to be comfortable and confident in your choice of the clinic. But you should not have to decide alone. As a Simple Surrogacy client, you will have our many years of experience to guide you in your very important choice.

Surrogacy 101: Screening Process

Posted on: August 6th, 2011 by Simple Surrogacy No Comments

This article continues our series on informational articles about surrogacy.

As the next step in the process begins, the Surrogate has just decided to match with her Intended Parent couple, who may be a traditional couple,  a gay or same-sex couple, or single Intended Mother or Father. The next step is for the Surrogate to go to the Intended Parent’s clinic of choice to begin her medical screening.

Your clinic of choice will screen the Carrier using the guidelines provided by The American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The screening encompasses a review of their detailed medical history, a physical exam, comprehensive laboratory testing, psychological assessment and medical screening. Multidisciplinary consultations with internists and specialists, psychologists and/or counselors, geneticists may also be required.

If there has been no previous work-up or if the testing is outdated, the Traditional or Gestational Surrogate’s work-up may include:

Gestational Surrogate Medical Screening

· Initial consultation with a Reproductive Endocrinologist

· Physical examination

· Gynecological Exam

· Blood count and chemistry

· Blood type and RH

· Drug toxicology (drugs, alcohol, and nicotine)

· Screening for rubella, cytomegalovirus, , toxoplasmosis

· HIV Antibody

· Hepatitis A, B and C Surface Antigen

· RPR for Syphilis

· Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

· Cervical Cultures for Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Ureaplasma, and Mycoplasma.

· Genetic Testing for Cystic Fibrosis, Tay Sachs Disease, Sickle Cell Disease, and Thalassemia.

· FSH – cycle day 2 or 3

· Group B Strep

· Hysterosalpingogram or Sono-hysterosalpingogram

· Consultation with the IVF nurse coordinator regarding the treatment protocol,
medication and teaching of injections. Review and sign the consent forms.

The Intended Parents will also undergo a screening process, which we will detail later in this series. Once all parties have been screened, and they have passed, then everyone is cleared to begin Counseling, Psych Evaluations and Legal Contracts.

Surrogacy 101: Matching Process

Posted on: July 28th, 2011 by Simple Surrogacy No Comments

Surrogacy 101: Matching Process

This article continues our series on informational articles about surrogacy.

The Matching process is the most fluid and tentative process of the Surrogacy Journey. Intended Parents and Gestational Surrogates must rely on their agency’s expertise to make a great match between themselves so a great partnership can be formed. The relationship between the Surrogate and Intended Parent(s) is the most important in the whole surrogacy process. After all, the Intended Parent(s) and Surrogate will be spending the next productive year together! So, the matching process is very important.

To begin, all identifying information is removed from the Intended Parent(s) Profile. Then that profile is sent out to available, qualifying Surrogates who meet the Intended Parent’s requirements. Those requirements may include state of residence, willingness to reduce or terminate, experience, preferences on contact during and after pregnancy, and employment status. The Intended Parents may have many requirements, but the Surrogate will ultimately have her own requirements as well to pick her Intended Parents. Simple Surrogacy also determines if the parties personalities and common interests match well. All of these considerations are very important.

Once a Surrogate has reviewed the Intended Parent Profile, she will then contact Simple Surrogacy to discuss the potential match. If the Surrogate feels the Intended Parent(s) are a good match for her, we will then send the Intended Parents the profile of the Surrogate.

After the Intended Parent(s) have reviewed the Surrogates profile and are interested in pursuing a match,  the Executive Program Director will set up a conference call between the Intended Parent(s) and potential Surrogate so they can get a better feel for each other.

If the call goes well and they agree to take the next steps, then a face to face meeting is scheduled. Typically all parties will meet for dinner or lunch to become better acquianted.

Once the Intended Parent(s) and Surrogate have met face to face, they will then call the Executive Program Director to discuss how the meeting went and whether or not they would like to pursue a journey together. 

You are considered matched through Simple Surrogacy once you have met your Surrogate or Intended Parent(s) face to face and all parties have relayed to Executive Program Director that they would like to move forward with the medical and legal process.

Surrogacy 101- Application and review

Posted on: July 22nd, 2011 by Simple Surrogacy No Comments

Surrogacy 101: Application review

This article continues our series on informational articles about surrogacy.

After submitting your application for review to the selected Surrogacy Agency, the application will be reviewed by the Agency. Although we cannot speak to the processes used by other Agencies to determine acceptance by the Agency, we can describe the process at Simple Surrogacy.

Once we receive an application from a prospective Surrogate, our Surrogacy Coordinator carefully reviews it for any obvious red flags. Red Flags are cause for immediate rejection and can vary from being an active smoker, to being on psychological medication, to having an unstable home life. There are many reasons a Surrogacy Application can be refused, and many do not make it past the first screening. Once the initial review of the application is completed, the Coordinator passes the application upward to the Executive Program Director. After the Executive Program Director reviews the application, and finds it acceptable, she will contact the surrogate for her initial interview. In the event the prospective Surrogate has a spouse, he would need to be available for an interview as well. It is very important that your spouse/partner is supportive of your decision to become a Surrogate.
In the interview, the Executive Program Director will get to know the surrogate better, asking her about her home life, previous pregnancies and deliveries, why she would like to become a Surrogate, who would be ideal Intended Parent(s) for her, among many other questions. If the Surrogate does well on this interview, and the Executive Program Director feels she would make a wonderful Surrogate, then the Surrogate will fill out the Agency forms.

The Agency forms include a Surrogate Agreement with the Agency, a HIPPA release and a Medical Records Authorization. Using the Medical Records Authorization, the Agency will collect the Surrogate’s medical records from past pregnancies and deliveries and submit them for review with a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE). The agency will also require the Surrogate to obtain a copy of her Insurance Policy for the agency to review.

Once all of those materials and documents are collected, submitted and reviewed, then the Surrogate and her spouse/partner are ready for the a background check. The surrogate’s information and her spouse/partner’s information are run through a high-level screening program to determine if they have any criminal or financial history that would disqualify them from working with our program.

Once the background check is cleared, the Surrogate’s insurance policy has been reviewed,  the medical records are collected and cleared and the Surrogate’s contract is received, a home visit or in person meeting between the Surrogate and Coordinator may be scheduled for a final review. At that point, the Surrogate’s application process is complete, and her profile is made available to prospective Intended Parent(s).

Surrogacy 101- Becoming a Surrogate

Posted on: July 16th, 2011 by Simple Surrogacy No Comments

Surrogacy 101:

Simple Surrogacy has decided to offer to its readers a guide to different parts of the surrogacy journey. To kick off this series, we’ll begin with how to become a surrogate.

Becoming a Surrogate

To become a Surrogate, you must first decide how you would like to be a surrogate, through an agency or independently. We at Simple Surrogacy firmly believe that the best Surrogacy journeys for Intended Parents and Surrogates alike are those coordinated/ managed by excellent Surrogacy Agencies. So, first the Surrogate must select the agency they intended to work with and review their qualifications. Every agency is different so it is very important to investigate your options, reasearch the agency that you are interested in, talk to Surrogates and Intended Parents who have experience with said agency, and make an informed decision based on your research and needs.

Most surrogacy agencies have similar prerequisites for their surrogates. The surrogates will have to meet some or all of the following qualifications:

• Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States
• Be between the ages of 21-40 (Traditional Surrogates must be under 35)
• Have given birth to a child of your own
• Have had uncomplicated pregnancies and deliveries
• Be height-weight proportionate (BMI must be under 33)
• Have a valid drivers license
• Be in a stable living situation
• Have the support of your spouse or partner (when applicable)
• Not be on public assistance
• Be able to pass a background check
• Be willing to take medications via injection (when instructed by RE)
• Not smoke or take illegal drugs, or be exposed to second hand smoke
• Be willing to refrain from alcohol throughout the medical process and pregnancy
• Not have any sexually transmitted diseases that would subject you or the child you are carrying to physical harm
• Not have any psychiatric illness or take medications for depression or anxiety
• Not have had any tattoos or piercings within the past 12 months
• Be able to provide contact information for past OBs or family doctors so we are able to obtain your past pregnancy and delivery medical records

If you are interested in becoming a Surrogate, and you meet the above qualifications, then the next step in the process is to fill out the Agency’s application. Most Agencies will have at least an initial on-line application that you can begin to fill out. Some agencies have their entire application online for the surrogate’s convenience. The Application will ask the Surrogate many questions about their personal history, medical history and living situation. Most applications start with general questions, like marital status, number of children, occupation and lifestyle. But the applications will also collect detailed history about the potential Surrogate’s medical history, reproductive history, and any other surrogacy or egg donations she may have undergone. The application also will ask questions designed to get an ideal match between the Surrogate and her Intended Parents. These questions include personality, hobbies, interests, talents and likes and dislikes. The application will also ask probing questions about the Surrogate’s preferences for the surrogacy, such as contact preferences, selective reduction preferences and termination preferences. The Surrogate will also indicate if she will be applying to be a Traditional or Gestational Surrogate. The Surrogate will also indicate if she is willing to carry for a  married couple, unmarried couple, single Intended Mothers or Intended Fathers, and/or same sex Intended Parents.
It is important that a Surrogate answer all questions thoughtfully, truthfully, and carefully, being sure to give a good impression of herself to the Intended Parents who will be reviewing her profile. Once the application is complete, the Surrogate will submit the application to be reviewed by the Agency.