A gestational surrogate must be between the ages of 21-38. She must have given birth to at least one child. She must be a non-smoker and not taking or using any illegal substances (we definitely do drug testing). She can’t receive government assistance. She must live in a safe and stable home environment. She must have reliable transportation for doctor appointments. She must have a great emotional support system through family or friends. She and her spouse/partner must not have any criminal background. She must meet the body mass index as required by the IVF physician (click here to see index). She must be willing to undergo physical screening, drug and alcohol testing and psychological screening

Government assistance means welfare benefits or medical benefits paid by the government. We may be willing to accept applications from candidates who receive government assistance, but only under specific conditions.  We would never willingly be involved with defrauding the government, so we would require proof that you notified the governmental agency once you started receiving any money for the gestational surrogacy. If you wouldn’t notify the governmental agency yourself, we would be forced to notify them. In all likelihood, if you become a gestational surrogate you would lose all benefits because your income level will change, and we find most women can’t afford to lose medical care or financial benefits provided to them or their family members. We don’t want any woman to take a risk of losing everything when there are no guarantees you will become pregnant and remain pregnant – if there is no pregnancy you will not receive your monthly compensation –  then you will have to reapply for all your benefits. This could cause great hardship for you and your family.

This is not a judgment about personal looks. We base this decision on the criteria received from the IVF centers we work with…it is their restriction not ours. And, it is important to know that women under the recommended BMI will also not be accepted. IVF centers tell us that they have a hard time regulating the hormones because the medications are absorbed differently in those who don’t fall within the “healthy guideline”. Also, the risks of pregnancy complications (gestational diabetes, etc.) are increased with women who exceed the recommended BMI. The IVF center’s goal is to help their patients become parents of full- term and healthy babies, so they want “optimal” situations. Intended Parents will follow the recommendation of the physician, so it would not make any sense for us to have you go through all the effort of the application process knowing we wouldn’t be able to match you.

Upon receipt of your initial inquiry, we will send you an information packet about gestational surrogacy and our program. If you are still interested in continuing, you will be asked to fill out our profile questionnaire and you will be asked to provide your medical records from previous births. (APM can order your records if you sign an authorization.) The amount of time it takes to get pre-approved is dependent on how quickly you can provide us with your completed application. Once we approve your application and medical records, you will also be asked to sign a release so we can order a background check on you and your spouse/partner. Once we receive a clear background report, you will have a personal meeting with our surrogate coordinator in your home. This gives us a chance to meet your family, and for you and your family members to ask questions about our program and the process. We will send you for a psychological assessment. The assessment includes taking an MMPI test and meeting with a psychologist. He or she will go over the usual gestational surrogacy processes to make sure you are really ready to undertake such a serious commitment. (it is very rare that a surrogate will not pass this evaluation, so don’t worry!) Once we receive the psychological clearance, we may arrange for you to go to a local IVF center for a uterine evaluation. We want to make sure the uterus is healthy and capable of carrying a pregnancy to term. Once you go through these steps you are ready to be matched!

The matching process is a time when your needs and the intended parents’ needs are assessed. Our goal is to match you with a family that meets your same expectations and really is a perfect match for you. Gestational surrogates with insurance are matched very quickly; whereas, gestational surrogates without insurance may have to wait for a family that can afford to pay for a pregnancy either in cash or by purchasing an insurance policy that will cover the costs. We also match according to your answers regarding the type of family you are willing to help. We work with heterosexual couples, gay couples, single males and single females. We do not discriminate in regards to race, marital status or age, so it is very important that we understand completely the needs of all parties involved. Once we find a great match, we present your completed profile to the family and we will provide their profile for you to review. If you and they would like to pursue a relationship we arrange for a telephone conference and personal meeting. You are never obligated to work with a family just because we presented you to them. We want you and them to be happy throughout the pregnancy and you will never be penalized in our program if you choose not to work with the family we present.

APM receives our intended parents through referrals from IVF centers. Each IVF center has its own requirements for the screening of the intended parents and the majority requires their patients to undergo the same psychological evaluation as the surrogates. And, all intended parents are required by federal law to undergo specific genetic and sexually transmitted disease testing. We do not require our intended parents to have a criminal background check, but they do sign a release in case the decision is made by all the parties that they need to have the check.

APM primarily works with S. California IVF centers; however, we do also work with centers in N. California and Colorado and on occasion the east coast. You will never be matched with a family that would require travel unless you’ve agreed ahead of time that you are willing to travel. Should you be required to travel, all the expenses are paid by the intended parents. You would not be expected to pay for any expenses out of pocket.

The final decision is usually made on day of embryo transfer; however, this amount is often predetermined during the matching process and the terms are written into the contract you will sign with your intended parents. The language will state the amount of fetuses you are willing to carry. Sometimes, however, everyone may agree to a different number to transfer once the quantity and quality of the embryos is determined. With the success rates most IVF centers now report, the number of embryos transferred is generally 2, but may go up to 3 if they are of poor quality. You should never agree to transfer more embryos than the amount of fetuses you are willing to carry unless you are also willing to reduce to one or two fetuses should all the transferred embryos develop.

Our gestational surrogates report that it is less painful than having a pap. The same instruments are used, but they aren’t removing any tissue, so there should be no pinching feeling. The surrogates do report, however, that they get some cramping after the procedure, and they also feel a pinching or cramping a day or so later when the embryo actually attaches itself.

The compensation you will receive is based on whether you are a first-time surrogate or a repeat surrogate and also whether you are carrying a singleton or multiples, etc. Please click here to view our sample benefit package to see how the fees are broken down. APM requires all intended parents to fully fund a trust account before you have an embryo transfer. The funds are held in a state bar trust account through National Fertility Law Office. We give them a copy of your signed benefits package as well as a copy of the signed contract between you and the intended parents. They schedule payments based on those agreements and they send the payments directly to you.

Absolutely!  Your monthly compensation is increased to reflect this additional fee for as long as you are pregnant with the additional fetus or if you give birth within the specific timeframes described in your legal contract you will receive the full balance within 14 days of delivery, and you will receive your maternity clothing allowance earlier in the pregnancy.

We have a lovely office in La Mesa, and we welcome visits from our gestational surrogates throughout their application process, matching process and pregnancy. We hold normal business hours, so you can be assured you will be able to speak with a “live” person when you call or stop by. Our surrogate coordinator is available by cell phone 24/7 and she really does become a friend to all our surrogates. She will be with you on day of embryo transfer and she will be with you when it is time to give birth. We have our own online chat system that is monitored by our surrogate coordinator and is for our surrogates only….not even the owner of APM has access! We hold monthly surrogate meetings during which our surrogates enjoy a great meal and conversation with other surrogates. And, we bring in special speakers to help guide our surrogates through some of the ups and downs that are inevitable with surrogacy. Even though the intended parents pay our fee, we never lose sight of your value and importance throughout this process.