National Fertility and Adoption Directory 2012 : Page 70

mind you have to approach her with all of the facts. She (and her family) need to be educated about just what you are asking her to do for you. This means gathering the appropriate information yourself. You need to find a reproductive attorney and make sure that surrogacy arrangements are legal in your state and if not, what your options are for proceeding with this process. You need to contact an infertility clinic and see what their requirements are regarding the qualifications of a surrogate mother. You need to locate a mental health professional who is well versed in surrogacy and perhaps arrange an initial appointment for you and your partner. Let’s not forget to talk to a financial advisor as well. If you don’t have a friend that will be willing or able to assist you in this HUGE endeavor then you might be thinking of hiring an agency to match you with either a woman who has been a carrier in the past, or with a woman who is a mother herself and who has the desire to help someone build their family via gestational surrogacy. I strongly suggest that you find a qualified agency and not go out on your own answering classified ads or browsing the web in order to save money. An agency will be able to guide you through the surrogacy process and recommend professionals in the infertility field to assist you each step of the way. Your surrogacy agency will know what states have the best surrogacy laws, will have an estimate of the costs involved, will point you toward a mental health professional who knows what questions to ask and is experienced in surrogacy evaluations, will suggest an attorney to draw up your contracts and, if you need a recommendation for an infertility clinic for either the embryo transfer or a satellite office to monitor your surrogate, the agency should have a list of prospects for you to contact. Remember that women who want to become surrogates are typically well educated about this process when they sign up and are accepted by the agency. They know what to expect and are prepared to move forward with Intended Parents who are a good match for them. Once you agree to work with a surrogate mother, the next steps are to make sure she is mentally capable and medically evaluated. This is where other professionals within the field of surrogacy come in and make sure that the match is viable. Then the legal contracts can be drawn up and agreed upon. You can see here that not only do you have the agency assessing this match but attorneys, psychologists and doctors. Usually the comfort level rises after each step is completed. If you are orchestrating this surrogacy journey on your own, and it can be done, just make sure that you don’t skip a step in order to ‘save’ time or money. Don’t download a sample contract from the web for your own personal use. Don’t skimp on the mental health evaluation. In addition, you must make sure that your choice of a surrogate has had a medical evaluation with YOUR reproductive endocrinologist and that she is a good candidate before you draw up the contracts. Have enough money to place in an escrow account held by a qualified escrow agent. Prepare for any extra financial THE RESOURCES LISTED IN THIS DIRECTORY ARE UNSCREENED AND SHOULD NOT BE VIEWED AS RECOMMENDATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY THE AFA. 70

Parenting Options Through Surrogacy, Egg Donation and Adoption
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