Becoming a surrogate - the matching process


Being a gestational surrogate is one of the most amazing gifts you could possibly give. We are here to assist in making this experience positive and memorable for you. We look forward to working with you through your surrogate journey. Please let us know if you have any questions at all!

Once your forms have been reviewed and entered into our database of surrogates the matching process begins. We will begin showing your profile to parents that the director thinks will be a good match for you one at a time. There are many factors that contribute to how long it takes to be matched, it could take just a couple of weeks, it could take a couple of months. Regardless of how long it takes, rest assured you will be matched with us! Once a parent is interested in you, we will send you their profile for review. After you receive the Intended Parent profile and review it, we will arrange a video call with you, the intended parent(s) and our director who will help facilitate the conversation. This video call must be done either on your computer via Skype or on your phone with a WiFi connection via WeChat. After the call has taken place the director or coordinator will contact you separately to see if you want the match. Once both the surrogate and the intended parents agree to work with each other, you're matched!

Medical Clearance and Psychological Clearance
After being matched, you will begin the process for medical clearance and psychological clearance. Medical clearance and psychological evaluation takes about 2-3 weeks to complete on average. You will schedule your medical clearance appointment with the clinic your IPs are using. All travel will be arranged for you by GS Moms. You will travel on your own to your medical screening, no children are allowed at the clinics so please ensure you have made proper arrangements ahead of time for childcare. The medical clearance appointment typically only takes one day, but depending on your location you may need to allow for 2 days of travel. At your medical clearance appointment you will have a saline sonohysterogram, blood and urine work done. If you are in a monogamous relationship, your partner or spouse will undergo their blood work for STD testing as well a blood work for drug screening in the same time period you go for your medical clearance. Spouse/partner labs can be done at a lab located by you, they do not need to travel for this. A positive test result from your spouse could disqualify you as a surrogate.

The psychological clearance process consists of taking an MMPI which is around 500 questions. The MMPI only takes an hour and a half to two hours to complete and you can break up the questions into different time periods, it does not have to be completed all at once. A phone interview is usually scheduled first and the MMPI will need to be completed and returned to the psychologist before the interview.

Once both the medical clearance and psychological evaluation is complete and you get cleared both medically and psychologically, you move on to the next phase!

Contracts
The next phase of becoming a surrogate is contracts. The intended parent's(s') lawyer writes up the initial contract based upon your fee schedule and once that is complete a copy will be sent to you. You will have an attorney that will represent you during the contract process to answer any questions or concerns you have about your contract. Be sure to read your contract in all its entirety a couple of times and discuss it with your coordinator. All financial aspects of the contract will be based off of your fee schedule that you filled out in the beginning part of the process. We like to see contracts completed in 2-3 weeks, but it can take longer depending on how many revisions and negotiations take place. You will schedule a consultation by phone with your attorney to go over your contract with you, let your attorney know if you want any changes made to the draft. Once both parties agree to the contract and it is signed and notarized by both parties, your attorney will write a legal clearance letter and send it to GSMoms and your clinic. You have now obtained legal clearance! After you obtain legal clearance, you will start receiving your monthly allowance typically the first of the following month and your clinic will issue your calendar to begin medications.

Start of Medications
After you have obtained legal clearance, you will receive a calendar from the clinic and specific instructions for your medication protocol. Medications are typically taken for 3 weeks before transfer and continued until you are between 10 and 12 weeks pregnant. Your coordinator will help you arrange your local monitoring appointments if you do not live near the clinic. Typically, you will have one appointment a week until transfer.

Transfer
Once your lining has reached its optimal thickness and the clinic decides you are ready for transfer, you will have your appointment scheduled for transfer. A companion must go with you to your transfer as you will be placed on bedrest for 24-48 hours after transfer, this is a great time to rest and be pampered! GS Moms will arrange travel and accommodations for you and your companion for your transfer. Children are not allowed at the clinic so please arrange for childcare for the 2-4 days you will be gone.

Continued Monitoring and Confirmation of Pregnancy
After transfer you will continue with your medication protocol, local monitoring and beta levels will be tested weekly. Beta tests detect the amount of HcG which is the pregnancy hormone that is in your blood when pregnant. These levels are expected to continually rise in the beginning stages of pregnancy which is why they are tested regularly until confirmation of pregnancy by ultrasound. Confirmation of pregnancy is obtained when a heartbeat is detected by ultrasound around week 6-8. After heartbeat you may have a few follow up appointments and then you will graduate to your own OB that will see you for the rest of the pregnancy. Medication protocol typically is discontinued at the time of graduation to your OB.

Gestational Surrogate Moms, Inc. (GSMoms) is a full-service surrogacy and egg donor agency that focuses on keeping the most significant decision in life - that of starting a family - a personal experience. Whether you are an intended parent, surrogate, egg donor, clinical partner and/or sister agency, you will always feel our level of commitment. Our GSMoms family will work you through this process, and treat you with the care you deserve during such a critical time in your lives. 

We are a global company with our main offices located in Sacramento, California, and Champaign, Illinois. We also have a satellite office in Pasadena, California; and work with partners and other agencies located throughout the world, including Tel Aviv, Israel, and Shenzhen, China.