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How to Become a Surrogate
So, you’ve done your research and you’ve decided that you would like to embark upon a surrogacy journey, but you may be feeling a little lost on how to get the process started. Here is a list of things that need to be completed so you can get the ball rolling!
Get Informed
Do your research about surrogacy and learn exactly what’s involved in the process.
Surrogacy requires a great deal of commitment and responsibility, and while your pregnancy will be a fairly relaxed time, the lead up to becoming pregnant will be less so. You will have a lot of paperwork, appointments, screenings, medications and other important commitments to adhere to.
Surrogacy is not a particularly fast process, so you can expect to dedicate 3-6 months of your time solely to the application and screening process as well as the legal steps, before making it to the embryo transfer cycle itself. It’s important to speak to your agency and become fully informed, so you can make a decision about whether you’re 100% ready to commit to this process and whether surrogacy is right for you.
Fill Out An Application
Once you’ve chosen the agency you’d like to work with, the first step is to complete the application.
Remember to be truthful and thorough; if you’re dishonest about things like your pregnancy history or BMI these things will come back to bite you, and you may even be disqualified down the line. The IVF clinic will be reviewing your medical records and screening you/checking your BMI, so it’s better to have everything out in the open from the get-go. For something like high BMI, most agencies are willing to walk you through the application process and wait for you to reach your goal weight before matching you!
You can complete GSHC Surrogacy Agency's surrogate application by clicking HERE.
Complete Medical Records Release and Background Check
Your agency will have to request your pregnancy records once your application is complete, to rule out any disqualifications and to make sure you didn’t have any major issues during or shortly after pregnancy.
They will have you complete a medical records release form which gives them permission to access your protected health information. You and your partner, if applicable, will also have to submit to a criminal background check. Your credit won’t be checked; however, your federal and county criminal records will be. If you have something on your record, it’s best to disclose this to the agency at the beginning of your application process.
Complete Your Intake Interview
Your agency will require you to complete an interview, usually either over the phone or by video chat, during which they will review your application with you and explain the surrogacy process in detail.
This allows them to get to know more about you and whether you and the agency are a good fit for each other/whether they believe you will make a good surrogate. It also gives the agency a better idea of your personality which will assist them in the matching process.
Complete a Match Meeting
Once your application is approved, your profile will be shown to intended parents currently looking for a surrogate.
If a family is interested in meeting you, you will be sent their profile to review as well and a match meeting will be set up; normally this is done by video chat but on the rare occasion that your intended parents are local to you, this may also be done in person. You can get to know each other a little better and decide whether you think this will be a good fit, and whether you want to carry their baby. If you both like each other – congratulations! You are now in a surrogacy match and will move on to the medical screening phase.
Conclusion
The process to become a surrogate has many steps. GSHC Surrogacy Agency will work with you each step of the way to make sure that your intake process goes smoothly and that you are prepared, informed, and excited to begin your surrogacy journey.
If you are interested in becoming a Surrogate with GSHC Surrogacy Agency, please complete our Surrogate Intake Form, contact us at [email protected], or call us at (310) 953-0173.