The process of working with TLC Surrogacy to find a suitable surrogate and becoming a parent via gestational surrogacy is straightforward. Following are the eight steps involved.
1. Register for a TLC Surrogacy Online Account (top ^)
To begin, you will need to complete the online aspiring parent registration. Upon completion, you will immediately be provided secure access to our surrogate database.
2. Surrogate Search & Selection (top ^)
From your online account you can search our database of all available surrogates. Please be mindful that there is a greater demand for surrogates than the number of surrogates available. Moreover, surrogates want to start immediately and don’t wish to wait long for a match. Therefore, don’t be disappointed to find a limited selection on the database. TLC Surrogacy can conduct a no obligation custom surrogate search on your behalf based on your desired characteristics.
Within each surrogate profile, you will see extensive background information with which to make your surrogate selection. TLC Surrogacy does not "package" its surrogates – we want you to know the real person behind each surrogate through the selection process. Everything you see on each surrogate’s profile is in her own words. On each profile, you will find a list of personal attributes and an in-depth medical and personal self-disclosure as part of the TLC Surrogacy surrogate registration and pre-screening process. Photos of the surrogate and her family are also provided.
3. Surrogate Confirmation (top ^)
Once you have selected a potential surrogate, TLC Surrogacy will contact your surrogate choice to confirm her interest and availability. Your brief biographies, if you’re willing to share at this point, will be provided to her for review, and she may ask additional questions about you. If she is willing and available to serve as your surrogate, you will be notified and the surrogate will be "placed on temporary hold" (i.e., will not be available to other aspiring parents for the time being).
4. Introduction to Surrogate (top ^)
Once you have selected your choice of a surrogate carrier and she has confirmed that she is willing and available to carry for you, TLC Surrogacy will then schedule a three-way telephone conference call with you (the aspiring parents) and the surrogate. During this teleconference, you and the surrogate can get to know each other and ask questions of each other. A TLC Surrogacy consultant will be on the call to guide both parties through this introductory conversation. If the initial telephone meeting is successful - if you and the surrogate remain interested in proceeding with the process - then you will be asked to send in the signed agreement and agency fee.
5. Agreements & TLC Surrogacy Agency Fee (top ^)
You can print out and sign the TLC SurrogacySurrogate Gestational Carrier Agreement and Acknowledgement of Intended Parents documents along with a check for the TLC Surrogacy agency fee. We request that you return the agreements and payment within three business days of your surrogate selection. The purpose of this request is to ensure fairness to the surrogate candidate and to other aspiring parents who may be interested in her as well. Once the agreements and fee are received by TLC Surrogacy, the contact information for both parties will be released to each other. TLC Surrogacy will then ask that you schedule an in-person meeting with the surrogate to further get to know each other.
6. Surrogate Psychological Evaluation (top ^)
TLC Surrogacy will then send the complete profile and contact information of the surrogate to your IVF clinic. The surrogate will be asked to meet with a licensed psychologist for an assessment of her mental and emotional readiness for the surrogacy process. If the surrogate has a husband or a domestic partner, he will also be asked to meet with the psychologist for evaluation. This evaluation will be paid for by you, the aspiring parents.
7. Contract Negotiation & Legal Review (top ^)
The compensation amount for the service of carrying and delivering your biological baby is determined by the surrogate gestational carrier herself. Although being a surrogate is a priceless gift, most surrogates request - and most aspiring parents expect to compensate at a minimum - $25,000 for a single birth and $30,000 for twins, in addition to expenses. Once you agree upon a compensation amount with the surrogate, you and your lawyer will present a legal contract to the surrogate. The surrogate will then meet with an attorney of her choice, paid for by you, the aspiring parents, who will review the contract with her and negotiate any changes with you before all parties sign.
Note that the legal contract involves you and the surrogate - not TLC Surrogacy. However, TLC Surrogacy will be available as an advisor to the aspiring parents and the surrogate throughout the contract negotiation and gestational surrogacy process.
8. Embryo Transfer and Pregnancy (top ^)
The surrogate's menstrual cycle and the menstrual cycle of the biological mother will be synchronized using daily injections of Lupron. The surrogate will also be taking Estrogen prior to ovulation, and the biological mother will be taking daily injections of fertility drugs. The development of the biological mother's eggs will be monitored by daily blood work and ultrasounds.
The thickness of the lining of the surrogate's uterus will be evaluated using blood tests and ultrasounds. Eggs are then retrieved from the biological mother (the procedure is non-surgical and generally requires only a mild sedative to relax the mother). Three days after the eggs have been retrieved and fertilized with the sperm of the biological father, the physician will transfer the embryos to the surrogate. Depending on the physician, the surrogate may continue with progesterone treatments
A pregnancy test will be taken approximately 10 days after the transfer of embryos to the surrogate. Once pregnant, the surrogate will carry your healthy baby (or babies) to term, maintaining a close, personal relationship with you throughout the process until delivery.
Register Now to Become a Parent.