Choosing your team
Agency, clinic or independent — and how to spot a bad one.
19 articles
Before Signing With an Agency – 10 Contract Clauses You Must Fully Understand
The first contract you sign – and the one read least carefully. Ten critical clauses and two golden rules before signing with an agency.
Surrogate Health Insurance in 2026 – What Changed in the Market and What You Must Check Today
Surrogacy exclusions, rising prices and one critical enrollment window – the 2026 insurance update, and three questions demanding written answers.
PGT-A Embryo Testing – What It Really Delivers, and When It Matters Less
The test that became almost the default in U.S. surrogacy – what PGT-A checks, what it promises, and when you can actually skip it.
Independent Surrogacy vs. an Agency – Who Is It Really Right For?
In my post about "a second journey without an agency" I wrote about couples returning for a second journey with the same surrogate and skipping the agency. But lately I meet more and more couples considering skipping the agency in their first journey – what English-speaking communities call an Indy Journey. The savings are tempting: agency fees run tens of thousands of dollars. So let's talk about what you actually give up when you give up an agency.
Why Matching With a Surrogate Takes So Long – and What Actually Shortens the Wait
"We signed with the agency eight months ago and still no match. Is that normal?" – if I had a dollar for every time I've been asked this... So let's talk honestly about the most frustrating wait of the journey: the wait for a surrogate.
AI in Embryo Selection – Revolution or Marketing Gimmick?
In my post about embryo grading I described how an embryologist looks at an embryo and gives it a "score" – those mysterious letters and numbers like 4AA that we all learned to decipher during sleepless nights. But in recent years a new player has entered the lab: artificial intelligence. More and more U.S. clinics offer (and sometimes charge extra for) AI systems that scan and rank embryos. So is it a game changer – or mostly an invoice changer?
Surrogacy Scams – The Red Flags That Will Save You
After accompanying hundreds of parents through this process, I can tell you one thing with certainty: Most people in this industry genuinely care and are deeply dedicated to what they do. But wherever there's enormous emotion, big money and the dream of a family – there are also those who exploit it. In recent years we've seen too many cases of parents losing money, precious time, and sometimes embryos – because of untrustworthy players.
The Escrow Company – The One Link You Cannot Compromise On
During your surrogacy journey you will wire a six-figure sum to a company you've probably never heard of, somewhere in the middle of the U.S., and trust it to pay your surrogate, clinic and insurance – the correct amounts, on time. That company is called an escrow company, and most intended parents choose it without asking a single question. That's a mistake.
Warren Buffet’s tip to finding an egg donor
Sounds completely unrelated, right? What does an American millionaire have in common with an egg donor in a surrogacy process?
The Guide to Common Acronyms & Terms
What surprised me most in my journey wasn't seeing "how surrogacy really works" — it was discovering the medical processes happening "behind the scenes".
How important is the geographical location of the clinic?
The clinic’s location used to be much more important (the parents had to fly to freeze sperm, and the surrogate would get approved for the process only after a series of tests at the clinic).
What U.S. state is the surrogacy agency located in?
There are surrogacy agencies in almost every U.S. state.
Storing embryos and sperm at the clinic
Your genetic material is kept at the clinic you’ve chosen to work with, and generally if you don’t ask to have it disposed, it will be stored there for years and you’ll have to pay for its storage.
Transporting embryos between clinics or switching fertility clinics
What happens if you’ve got embryos in one clinic, and you want to switch to another, whatever the reason would be? I’ve heard this question raised mainly in negative contexts: dissatisfaction with…
Round 2 without an agency?
You made it through the first pregnancy, and you had a baby or maybe even twins. Congratulations! A month, one year, two years have gone by (I’ve even seen 6!) and you’re ready for another child.
What’s the difference between working directly with US providers vs. a local broker agency?
I’ll start by explaining the differences, considering the fact that with the surrogacy process you’ll need a clinic and surrogacy agency in the country where you are undergoing the process.
American agency versus a clinic - what’s the difference and do you need them both?
You’ll encounter many providers during the surrogacy process, some local in your country and some abroad, but there are two main professional providers:
A friend as your surrogate or egg donor — is it a good idea?
This is one of the questions I get most often, in two versions: "we have a friend willing to donate an egg", and "we have a friend who wants to be our surrogate".
Contact with the surrogate after the birth - is it recommended or not?
The relationship with the surrogate is undoubtedly one of the most sensitive and personal issues in the surrogacy process.