Screening of Surrogate
Potential surrogates are carefully screened and must pass a number of tests as required by your IVF center, or required by state and federal regulations. Surrogates will have full medical screening by your IVF center and FDA regulated infectious disease screening performed by your IVF center.
As a part of our agency prescreening, surrogates submit to background checks and a professional psychological evaluation and clearance is submitted to your IVF center. These screenings are standard; however, A Perfect Match goes beyond the standard and we make sure we receive copies of the surrogate’s previous births, previous cycle records (if applicable), OB clearance for a pregnancy, and we visit the surrogate’s home in order to verify that the surrogate lives in a safe and clean environment.
- Medical Screening - The IVF center is chosen by intended parents screen and it is the IVF center that will determine if the surrogate is physically capable of undergoing the surrogacy process and embryo transfer. An ultrasound, hysteroscopy, and vaginal cultures will be required. Drug, alcohol and tobacco product testing is a part of the screening. The surrogate will also be tested for sexually transmitted or other transmissible diseases, which includes: HIV, HTLV-I, HTLV-II, and Hepatitis B and C. The sexual partner of the surrogate will also be screened for sexually transmitted diseases. Only the IVF center can make the final determination of eligibility for the surrogate to cycle.
- Psychological Screening - ensures that a surrogate fully understands the emotional ramifications of surrogacy. An MMPI (or other type of personality assessment) will be administered by a licensed psychologist. A personal meeting with the psychologist is mandatory for the surrogate and the surrogate’s spouse or partner. A Perfect Match has this screening completed prior to the medical screening of the surrogate.
- Background Screening - for criminal, civil and DMV history is required of all of our surrogates as well as of their spouses or partners. Background screening for criminal history is also conducted on the intended parents. In many courts it is mandated and intended parents must provide information and to sign an agreement that allows APM to do this background check. All information is considered your confidential information and will not be disclosed except if required by the court during the parental establishment procedure naming you are legal parents.
Legal Contract
Once the surrogate has been evaluated by the IVF center, all screening is complete, and the cycle is ready to commence, both the intended parents and surrogate start their legal contracts. Each party will be referred to separate attorneys who specialize in surrogacy law. As an intended parent, you will enter into a contract with the surrogate. The contract is serious and weighty, covering issues such as compensation, legal obligations of both the intended parents and the surrogate, parental rights, termination and reduction. One of the things you can do is have language in the legal contract stating the surrogate agrees to contact the intended parent after each doctor appointment, to notify the intended parents of all future appointments, all changes in medications, all changes in her health status, all testing recommendations, all testing performed and all potential complications throughout the pregnancy. The terms of the Surrogate Benefit Package will be incorporated into this contract.
The intended parent’s attorney is the drafting attorney; the surrogate’s attorney is the reviewing attorney. The drafting attorney sends the contract to the intended parents for their initial review and approval. Once approved, the intended parent’s attorney sends the contract to the reviewing attorney. Any changes that are requested by the surrogate are relayed from her attorney to your attorney. When a final version of the contract is agreed upon, all parties sign the legal contract. Medications cannot begin until all parties have signed the contract and until the drafting attorney sends a clearance letter to the IVF physician to notify them that we can commence with the cycle.
Reproductive Law Center generally drafts all surrogate contracts for our program. You may choose a different attorney to represent you as long as that attorney has a minimum of 3 years experience in reproductive law, however, Reproductive Law Center will generally represent one of the parties in the negotiations of the agreement between you and the surrogate. A Perfect Match is not a party to your contract with the surrogate, so this ensures that the agency program remains consistent with the legal contract terms set forth in the surrogacy agreement.