Here comes the approximate list of questions, which you should not forget to ask, before applying to any surrogacy agency:
• When the surrogacy begun? You are to be sure that the agency’s staff is experienced, well – organized, and has worked together for some period of time;
• Who oversees the surrogacy agency? Why has the agency’s manager chosen this kind of a career for himself / herself? Whom is the surrogacy agency run by: a doctor, a lawyer, an experienced surrogate mother or intended parent, or by a social worker?
• How many deliveries has the surrogacy agency experienced? What types of surrogacy were all these deliveries? You should be looking for an agency, which has experienced quite a number of deliveries. A small amount of births shows that there might be something wrong with the program of the surrogacy agency. You should also look for the agency, which has more experience on the surrogacy type, you are going to apply to, because the difference between the gestational and traditional surrogacy types is quite significant;
• What area is the surrogacy agency licensed in? How would it correspond with where you are from?
• Is there a main office, or is the surrogacy agency’s program run from the home office? You should try to get to know what the size of the agency’s staff is, because there are many surrogacy agencies, with small staffs, as they depend on their outside referrals for their psychological, medical and legal help. Of course, it is not a bad thing, but you may be asked to pay more, than in the most agencies, once you applied to the agency of such kind. You are to be aware as well, that the smaller the program is, the more it is linked to provide more individualized care about their clients.
• Has there ever been a situation, when the surrogate mother refused to relinquish her parental rights on the baby, she delivered? If it ever happens, what will the agency’s workers do? You should also get to know if the surrogacy agency has a good track record, which will give you an idea of how well it is able to screen and match the surrogate mothers and intended parents.
• Is the surrogacy agency currently in litigation or is it being sued? It is extremely important for you to know, as you would not like to find yourself lost in the shuffle of the surrogacy agency, which is currently sued. You would not also like to get involved in any kind of questionable practice of the agency, you have applied to.
• What kind of support is provided for surrogate mothers and intended parents? There are surrogacy agencies, which provide therapists for their potential clients, i.e. for surrogate mothers and intended parents, other agencies offer support groups.
• Some surrogacy agencies have online support networks; others are not able to provide such kind of support for the perspective intended parents or surrogate mothers. If you do need to be provided the online support, then you are to look for the surrogacy agency, that does provide the service, you require. If you have a possibility, you may ask to sit in on a surrogate mothers’ or intended parents’ meeting in order to get an idea of whether they provide what you need to or not.
• In what way does the surrogacy agency locate and screen potential surrogate mothers and intended parents? You should find out if the surrogacy agency finds their surrogate mothers with the help of the Internet, newspaper ads, or if surrogates come to them. Ask if the surrogate mothers have to meet with the psychologist, who is to approve them, before the journey begins. Is there any kind of pre – screening before they are introduced to the potential intended parents? Is there any psychologist available in the agency? What is the agency’s choosing criteria? Does the agency require each potential surrogate mother’s partner to come through the screening in order to see if he is able to provide all necessary support for the surrogate?
You should also know if the surrogacy agency’s program lets to conduct the intended parents’ screening by the surrogate mother, if so, then the woman is to decide for herself if she should assure people, she will be working with all nine months long, and even after.
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