While trying to find a surrogacy agency to work with, you’ll benefit from forming questions to ask a surrogacy agency before signing a contract.
The questions you ask can reveal whether or not an agency can help you meet your personal needs and goals during your journey. Consider asking:
- How long have you been in business and how many successful surrogacies have you completed?
- What are the requirements for joining your surrogacy program?
- How many staff do you have, and what kind of services do you provide surrogates and intended parents?
- What is your compensation package?
- How do you ensure your surrogates and intended parents have the best legal protection?
- What kind of post-surrogacy support do you offer?
- How do you protect your clients in case of an unexpected development?
You can contact us today if you think you’re ready to talk to a surrogate specialist. But, if you want to find out more about the answers to these common questions, continue reading.
7 Questions to Ask a Surrogacy Agency
Question 1: How Long Have You Been in Business, and How Many Successful Surrogacies Have You Completed?
When you find a surrogacy agency, it should have a proven record of success in helping both intended parents and surrogates. The agency should:
- Provide statistics of successful surrogacies
- Give a detailed explanation of what they define as “success”
- Have existed for many years and can prove their experience
Surrogacy can be complicated, so you’ll want to work with a professional who understands and completes this journey’s many different aspects.
Question 2: What are the Requirements for Joining Your Surrogacy Program?
You should find a surrogacy agency that thoroughly screens its intended parents and surrogates before accepting and matching them.
You and the intended parents will need to go through:
- Medical screening
- Psychological screening
- Criminal and background checks
While lengthy requirements to be a surrogate can seem overwhelming, they prove that a surrogacy agency only works with the best candidates and sets high standards to protect everyone they work with.
Question 3: How Many Staff do You Have, and What Kind of Services do You Provide Surrogates and Intended Parents?
Surrogacy is an involved process. You’ll work with:
- Legal professionals
- Medical professionals
- Management professionals
When you find a surrogacy agency to work with, your specialist will help facilitate any cross-professional communication.
The Importance of a Large Staff
The number of staff members an agency has will give you a better idea of what kind of personal attention they can provide, as well as how effectively they’ll be able to administer services.
A surrogacy agency should be committed to providing you with the best services, and they should be clear from the beginning about exactly what those are.
Remember: You and the intended parents should be able to focus on building your relationship and your healthy pregnancy instead of having to focus on the minute details of the surrogacy process.
Question 4: What is Your Compensation Package?
This is one of the most important questions to ask a surrogacy agency. Because as a surrogate, you should never be responsible for your pregnancy and surrogacy expenses.
A surrogacy agency should be transparent about surrogate compensation during your initial interview and be able to detail what finances are covered at what time during your surrogacy process.
It’s also a good idea to ask questions about the intended parents’ side of this issue:
- Do they pay all in a lump sum?
- How does a professional ensure they are financially prepared for the extra demands of surrogacy?
After all, as their surrogate, you want to make sure your intended parents can afford surrogacy without undue stress.
Question 5: How do You Ensure Your Surrogates and Intended Parents Have the Best Legal Protection?
Every surrogate and intended parent needs to have their own surrogacy attorney to protect their legal interests.
A surrogacy attorney will:
- Draft surrogacy contracts
- Negotiate surrogate compensation
- Establish the intended parents’ parental rights
You should never proceed with a surrogacy unless you are working with an attorney.
The best surrogacy agencies usually provide referrals to surrogacy lawyers they constantly work with and trust. They will take the initiative to connect their clients with the best legal protection. If you find a surrogacy agency that requires you to find your own surrogacy attorney, it’s wise to consider working with another surrogacy agency.
Question 6: What Kind of Post-Surrogacy Support do You Offer?
One thing that sets great surrogacy agencies apart from good ones is the availability of counseling and support after the surrogacy process is complete.
As a surrogate, you will likely face some physical and emotional challenges after you give birth and begin to adjust back to your life before surrogacy. A surrogacy professional will help you:
- Understand that what you’re feeling is normal
- Find services to help you get back to your everyday life
Question 7: How do You Protect Your Clients in Case of an Unexpected Development?
This is one of the most telling questions to ask a surrogacy agency.
If a professional tries to assure you that everything will work out perfectly, rather than explain in detail how they will respond if common, unexpected events occur, that surrogacy agency likely cannot provide the support you will need.
Surprises and delays occur in every surrogacy journey. Your surrogacy agency should be ready to help you and the intended parents resolve any unexpected developments that arise in a professional and efficient manner.
Next Steps After Creating Questions to Ask a Surrogacy Agency
Choosing a surrogacy agency is a big decision, especially because your surrogacy professional will dictate how the rest of your surrogacy journey proceeds. Make sure you take all the time you need to be 100 percent confident in a professional before moving forward with this life-changing journey.
You can start your surrogacy agency search by researching these agencies: