About Us
If you are one of a special segment of infertile families that is searching for an egg donor who matches you or your family, or you need a surrogate to help you complete your family—and want nothing less than absolute confidentiality, yet heart-to-heart understanding of your situation—then A Perfect Match, Inc. Egg Donation and Surrogacy Agency may be the solution for you.
Watch the Video
Darlene Pinkerton, founder of A Perfect Match Egg Donation and Surrogacy Agency, on the NBC Today show.
How We Started
A Perfect Match Egg Donation and Gestational Surrogacy Agency is the result of Darlene and Tom Pinkerton's own experience with IVF and surrogacy in 1990. Their genetic daughter, Kaitlin, was conceived in vitro from Darlene's ovum and Tom's sperm, but carried by a gestational surrogate—Kaitlin's Aunt Judy, Tom's sister.
Although Darlene was genetically Kaitlin's mother, the California State Health Department wanted to list Tom's sister as Kaitlin's mother on the birth certificate, insisting that Darlene legally adopt Kaitlin later. As a result, Tom obtained the first surrogate paternity judgment through the San Diego Courts (involving residents of San Diego), which ordered the health department to list Darlene as the mother on Kaitlin's original birth certificate. This ruling set a precedent for all subsequent surrogacy cases in San Diego.
This experience eventually gave birth to A Perfect Match Egg Donation and Gestational Surrogacy Agency—owned by Darlene and Tom, operated by Darlene since 1998, and specializing in egg donation and gestational surrogacy services. The egg donor database provides access to our donors who meet ASRM guideline criteria, plus the majority of our donors are of exceptional intelligence (measured by the SAT and similar college-entrance tests) who have very healthy medical, genetic and psychological family histories. Only 10% of applicants are accepted to the egg donor program because of our strict criteria and we are proud of the women we select.
A Perfect Match provides the best possible donor candidates to our families and remains committed to allowing intended parents to make the determination of what they feel is most important when choosing a donor. We respect that right to choose and we support our families in their decisions. You will never feel that you need to "settle" because we encourage our families to choose a donor who truly is a perfect match for them.
Staff Bios
Darlene M. Pinkerton; Founder, President and CEO of APM since 1998: Following her own experience as a parent through surrogacy in 1990, Darlene first served as a contract coordinator with the law office of Thomas Pinkerton—coordinating the legal and contractual aspects of donation and surrogacy—before beginning in 1998 to successfully connect clients with just the right ovum donors or surrogates, and doing it with absolute confidentiality. APM helped bring more than 800 babies into the world.
As articulate with the media as she is empathetic with her clients and donors, Darlene has appeared on Today, on CNN and MSNBC programs, on the BBC documentary "Modern Times: The Price of Eggs", and on other television and radio programs. She has been interviewed for articles in The New Yorker, Newsweek, and Self, among other magazines and newspapers. She is the mother of 20 year old Kaitlin born through surrogacy in 1990 (currently a UCLA student) and 38-year-old Ty who graduated from USC and who is the longest living person to receive a lung from a living donor...Darlene! (—but that's another story. Click here to see it. Requires Real Player).
Darlene has a true passion for helping any person who has a desire to become a parent through egg donation and surrogacy. She works closely with families and provides individual matching services in order to help a family choose a donor that is right for that family. She believes every parent should have the freedom to choose a donor who meets their needs and she created an egg donor program that allows parents to receive comprehensive information and photos from childhood through present, including photos of family members. She also facilitates match meetings between intended parents and donors that are anonymous or as open as the parties want. And, she loves to SKYPE! If you would like to have a personal meeting by phone or Skype please contact her directly: Darlene@aperfectmatch.com
Rose Lucero; Surrogacy Coordinator and a three time surrogate who has given birth to twins, a singleton, and again delivered twins for her last Intended family. Rose really enjoys working with the surrogate program knowing how much joy this relationship can bring to the family as well as the surrogate. Once a surrogate match is made, Rose attends each local embryo transfer and she brings a special care package for the surrogate to enjoy during her bed rest and to show our appreciation for the surrogate's efforts. Upon request from our intended parents, Rose will also attend ultrasound appointments and OB appointments once the surrogate is pregnant and she will take photos so that our families who are unable to attend can rest assured that we also understand their need to be fully informed of the outcome at each appointment. Rose is in charge of the monthly support group meetings we hold for our surrogates. Rose is not only a valuable support for our surrogates, but she is also a wonderful support to our intended parents. Please contact Rose if you want additional information regarding the surrogate program and our available surrogates.Rose@aperfectmatch.com
Valerie Milbourne; Donor Cycle Coordinator: Valerie begins coordination of the egg donation cycles once the match is finalized. She works closely with the intended parents, the donor and the IVF center throughout the cycle to make sure everything goes smoothly. She also acts as the liaison between the parties and the attorneys who will draft the legal egg donation contract. Valerie receives calendars for every donor cycle, she makes all travel arrangements for our donors and she overseas the financial aspect of the cycle. Valerie is very committed to her role in the cycle and she receives calls and texts from our cycling donors so she can verify every appointment they attend and she is now having donors send her a text verifying they took their medication. She does everything she possibly can to make sure the cycle stays on track. Valerie@aperfectmatch.com
Cheryl Eakin; Match Coordinator: Cheryl works with intended parents from the time they first contact APM until they find their perfect match. She knows our donor database very well, so she is able to make specific recommendations once she understands the criteria of an intended parent and she can guide them through the process of selecting a donor.
Jill Geronimo: Donor and Surrogate Intake and advertising specialist Jill@aperfectmatch.com
Angelica Lucero: Assistant to Rose Lucero, Surrogate Coordinator
Kaitlin P: Recruitment and Data Entry Kaitlin@aperfectmatch.com
Ashley W: Database entry
Ty P: Trust Account Administrator for NFLC Ty@nflc.net
A Perfect Match Office at 8419 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA 91941
