Next to choosing who to carry for, picking your agency is probably one of the most important decisions you will make as a surrogate. To be frank, there are lots of agencies that will pull you in with incentives or false sense of their ability to support you as a surrogate process. You are going to dedicate at least a year and sometimes up to 3 years with an agency. In other words, make sure you LOVE them. You need to know if they have your best interests at heart. We recommend interviewing 3-5 agencies near you to get a feel for what differences you can expect from different places. Now just some quick tips before getting to surrogate agency questions.

If you are an intended parent- click here for a list of agency questions

Quick Tips

Before diving into the questions here are some quick tips before you get started with any agency.

1. Do your research:
   Google the agency! Look for any related news articles, join online surrogacy groups- there are TONS including agency review groups. Make sure to read their website and make notes. A well established agency will have a good website with lots of information.
   
2. Video or In Person meetings are best:
   You can learn a whole lot more about who you are dealing with by looking at them. Not being able to see them in person is a red flag!
   
3. Don’t Rush!
   Yes we get it, it’s really exciting to jump in to help a family. We will reinforce that it is incredibly important to partner with an agency that works for you. You are already giving an amazing gift by being a surrogate and you don’t need any extra unnecessary headaches if you chose the wrong agency to partner with. Take your time, talk to the people you love, get their opinion. Especially your partner (if you have one) as they are going to be a large part of this process too.
   
4. Go with your Gut!
   If you feel like something is off. Trust that intuition. Does something sound too good to be true or is something they say totally different than other agencies you’ve talked to? This is a big commitment and you should feel 100% satisfied with the answers that you get.

Here’s a list of questions by topic:

Agency Questions

1. How long have you been in business? You want an agency that has been in business for a long time. A new agency just doesn’t have the experience.
2. How many Staff do you have? How many are dedicated to Intended Parents/ Surrogates?
   You want to make sure there is a small client to staff ratio for your support.
3. How many successful surrogacy journey’s have you had in the past year? This tells you what their recent experience is
4. How many current surrogates are you supporting?
   This will tell you how busy your support people are. Big red flag if each support person has a large number of clients to support.
5. Do you have different departments? If yes, what are they?
   More departments, means more services offered. Be wary of places that only have support staff.
6. What is your definition of a ‘successful’ surrogacy? See if they talk about the happiness, well being and positive outcomes for surrogates. Success means more than parents with babies.

Working with the Agency

1. Do you provide support outside business hours? Do they have a support team that can support you after hours?
2. What kind of services do you offer surrogates? Obviously more services means better support.
3. What about intended parents? You also want to be sure they are taking care of your intended parent(s)
4. What are your requirements for surrogates who work with your agency? Requirements should be clear
5. Is there room for exceptions within your surrogate requirements? Ask about your situation to see if you would likely qualify
6. Do you require my spouse to meet certain requirements, as well? (If applicable) Spouses matter and should be involved
7. Do I need to keep you informed of a new relationship? You will want to know when you have to inform them of a new partner as they may need to be screened.
8. What is your average surrogate compensation? This applies to altruistic surrogacy as well. You want to know the average overall payments per month etc..
9. How will I be paid/reimbursed? Very important to know what you need in order to receive your payments/reimbursements. Do they have an App? Or do you submit to the intended parents directly?
10. Do you help with contracts? Do they help with this? Are tips available?
11. How long will I receive services after the surrogacy is complete? Surrogacy does not end when you give birth. Sometimes you need support 6-12 months postpartum

Matching

1. What does your matching process like? You ideally want an agency that lets you choose your own match among a list of screened profiles that match your search requirements.
2. How many intended parents do you have waiting for a surrogate? This helps you determine how much choice you will have in choosing intended parents.
3. What if I have already found intended parents to work with? Some agencies may not work with you if you match outside their program.
4. How do you match surrogates and intended parents? You want to choose somewhere that gives you the power in choosing. Arranged matches are not always the best option.
5. . Do you work with domestic and/or international Intended parents? This tells you the kinds of intended parents you could be working with.
6. What information do you provide to intended parents about me during the matching process? This will tell you the information they give to intended parents about you. You’d be surprised just how much information they are given.

Matching Continued

1. How long will does it take to find a match with your agency? This should be fairly quick for a surrogate. You should not be waiting months to match.
2. How do you handle matches breaking? Matching isn’t a perfect process. You want to know what your options are if you need to break a match for any reason
3. Do you help me with the initial stages of meeting intended parents? You want to know that they support you and your intended parents in the ‘dating’ phase? Do they have a list of important questions to ask?
4. Can I see intended parent profiles prior to signing with your agency? This isn’t always possible due to privacy but it would be a bonus to be able to view profiles before deciding to work with an agency.

Other Professionals

1. What other professionals will I need to complete my surrogacy? Ideally, your agency will have relationships with all the professionals involved in your journey
2. Do you have relationships/ partnership with supporting professionals if so, what kind? You want to know before signing up who else you need to involve.
3. Do you offer counselling for surrogates? This is more than the initial screening, you want to know that they have counselling supports for the whole journey available to you?
4. Do you offer group support for surrogates? You want to know if they maintain a supportive community of surrogates. Do they offer retreats? Group meet ups? It is important to have a network of other surrogates to lean on.
5. Do you make sure that I receive those supports at no cost to me? At no time should a surrogate be required to pay out of pocket. All expenses should be reimbursed for the whole process.
6. Will you help me find additional professionals, if I need them? The answer here should always be yes.
7. Do I have to choose from pre-approved professionals with your agency? It is important to know that you can work with outside professionals if needed.

Support After Match

1. Will you support me during the Screening process? Do they have a relationship with your clinic? Can they book travel, appointments and hotels?
2. Do you offer support during pregnancy and postpartum? Ask what this will look like. Some agencies are only with you for the matching process and then you can be left on your own.
3. Do you support Hospital, Home birth, VBAC? The important part here is that they support the type of birth options you would prefer
4. Do you support the following birth attendants? OB, Midwife, Doula? Do they support the type of birth experience that you are looking for?
5. Will you re-match a surrogate with failed transfers with other intended parents? You want to know that you can continue with another couple if the first one doesn’t work out

Agency Communications

1. What does communication from your agency look like? Phone, e-mail, text, video chats? And how often does communication occur.
2. How do I communicate with intended parents? You want to know you agency expectations are regarding communicating with intended parents
3. Do you keep intended parents in the loop? Or is this something that the surrogate is responsible for?
4. Do you keep other professionals up to date? Do they inform other professionals that you are working with of any updates?
5. How do you resolve conflict between a surrogate and an intended parent? The important thing you want to know is if they have a professional to support you if there is one.

Other Important Questions

1. What will I be responsible for during the surrogacy process? You absolutely need to know what is your responsibility, what is the agency’s and what is the intended parents.
2. Why should I work with your surrogacy agency? This is a great question to see what type of people you are working with. Do they brag about what’s cool about them or do they bash other agencies?
3. Are there any perks or upcoming perks for signing with you coming up? Often times, agencies are offering added perks for signing up.
4. What is the best part about working with your agency? How they answer this can determine if they are a great fit for you.
5. What is the worst part about working with your agency? The goal here is to see if they are willing to look at mistakes and improve. No one is perfect.
6. Do you think I’m a good fit for your surrogacy program? By now they can tell you if you’d be a good fit.
7. What are the requirements once I sign up with your agency? DON’T SIGN ANYTHING unless you are absolutely sure that they are who you want to work with.
8. What do you do as an agency that no one else or few other agencies do? This is an opportunity to them to tell you why they are a great agency to work with.

Final Thoughts …

Remember, that choosing an agency is a very long commitment and you want to choose the right people to work with. A good agency will answer all your questions and leave you feeling supporting throughout your journey as a surrogate. If you are wanting to get help with your choice feel free to book a surrogacy coaching session.