First, some definitions:

• Traditional surrogacy involves a surrogate mother who uses her own eggs and is artifically inseminated with the semen of the Intended Father or sperm donor. She then carries and gives birth to the child. (A traditional surrogate may also act as her own ovum donor: after her own donated ova are harvested and fertilized, the embryos are transferred back into the surrogate's uterus. She then carries and gives birth to the child.) APM does not work with traditional surrogates at this time due to the unsettled legal issues.
• Gestational surrogacy involves an Intended Mother (or an ovum donor), an Intended Father (or a sperm donor) and a gestational surrogate. Through in vitro fertilization, eggs provided by the Intended Mother (or ovum donor) are fertilized with the sperm of the Intended Father (or sperm donor). The resulting 3-5 day old embryos are then transferred to the gestational surrogate who carries and gives birth to the child/children.

A Perfect Match recruits surrogates who are between the ages of 21-38, who have given birth to their own child/children, live in a stable home environment, do not smoke, do not have a criminal background and are not receiving government financial assistance. We will work with single woman provided they have extensive local family support. After prospective surrogates complete a profile and send photos to our office, we obtain their medical records.

At that point, if they are still qualified to become a surrogate, A Perfect Match hires a private investigative service to provide a criminal background check on both the surrogate and her spouse, if applicable. A Perfect Match also arranges to have the surrogate screened by a Psychologist; only upon passing the investigative background check and the psychological screening are they accepted into our surrogate program and presented to prospective Intended Parents. The surrogate and Intended Parents use either their first name or they are assigned a number; for at no time will any identifying information be given to the other party without their permission. Contact information will only be shared once an official match has been agreed upon by all parties.

Phone conferences between intended parents and surrogates are mandatory in our program during the match process, and personal meetings are encouraged unless geographically impossible at the time. Once a surrogate is matched with her Intended Parents she will undergo additional screening (at the expense of the Intended Parents and as directed by their IVF center)—physical and infectious-disease testing.

If you are interested in being a surrogate for A Perfect Match, call Darlene Pinkerton toll-free at: 800-264-8828, or email her at Darlene@aperfectmatch.com.

Click here to read our full Surrogacy Information letter.

If you want general information about surrogacy, see the websites of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine or Resolve: The National Infertility Association.

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