Choosing the right agency for surrogacy or donation

Family Therapist Kim Bergman, PhD, shares advice on the different factors to consider in order to choose the surrogacy or donation agency for you
Tips For Choosing The Right Agency For Surrogacy or Donation
KidsInTheHouse the Ultimate Parenting Resource
Kids in the House Tour

Choosing the right agency for surrogacy or donation

Comment
89
Like
89
Transcription: 
So when you choose your agency, there are a number of different criteria to look for. You want to make sure that they are who they say they are, so unfortunately surrogacy is a completely unregulated field so anybody can put up a beautiful website that they know how to be a surrogacy agency and claim to take care of you. And unfortunately, that happens all the time and people lose money. So you really want to make sure that expert knows what they are doing. Get references, ask them for clients that have gone through their program, ask them for clients that went through their program five years ago, ask them to show you that they´ve got malpractice insurance, all the different levels of insurance that they need to have, that they have real people go their office. Make sure they are a real place and find out how long they have been in business. Find out what is the actual professional expertise of the people running the agency. Once you do your homework and find a good agency, you can really trust them and put yourself in their hands. But your job is to make sure that you are putting yourself in the right hands because it´s a really big, big decision and really big journey.

Family Therapist Kim Bergman, PhD, shares advice on the different factors to consider in order to choose the surrogacy or donation agency for you

Related Videos

Transcript

Expert Bio

More from Expert

Kim Bergman, PhD

Family Therapist

Kim Bergman, PhD, a licensed psychologist of 22 years, has specialized in the area of gay and lesbian parenting, parenting by choice and third party assisted reproduction for the last two decades. Dr. Bergman has created a comprehensive psychological screening, support and monitoring process for Intended Parents, Surrogates and Donors. She is the co-owner of Fertility Counseling Services and Growing Generations and is a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the American Fertility Association, the American Psychological Association, the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, the Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy Association, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. She is on the national board of the Family Equality Council. Dr. Bergman writes, teaches and speaks extensively on parenting by choice. Along with co-authors, she published "Gay Men Who Become Fathers via Surrogacy: The Transition to Parenthood" (Journal of GLBT Family Studies, April 2010). Dr. Bergman created her own family using third party assisted reproduction and she lives with her wife of 28 years and their two teenage daughters. 

More Parenting Videos from Kim Bergman, PhD >
Enter your email to
download & subscribe
to our newsletter
  Listen or Watch
Must See First Year Videos
Three important rules about your baby's first foods
First year milestones
Postnatal depression and loneliness advice
Baby losing interest in nursing
The importance of spending quality time during early childhood
Narrating an infant's environment
Research based benefits of co-sleeping
Bonding versus attachment
Bonding with your baby after a less-than-perfect birth
Preventing postpartum depression
Play All 34 Videos
Featured Experts: Alan Greene, MD, Lawrence Kagan, MD, Barbara Olinger, MSW
More Playlists >
Transcription: 
So when you choose your agency, there are a number of different criteria to look for. You want to make sure that they are who they say they are, so unfortunately surrogacy is a completely unregulated field so anybody can put up a beautiful website that they know how to be a surrogacy agency and claim to take care of you. And unfortunately, that happens all the time and people lose money. So you really want to make sure that expert knows what they are doing. Get references, ask them for clients that have gone through their program, ask them for clients that went through their program five years ago, ask them to show you that they´ve got malpractice insurance, all the different levels of insurance that they need to have, that they have real people go their office. Make sure they are a real place and find out how long they have been in business. Find out what is the actual professional expertise of the people running the agency. Once you do your homework and find a good agency, you can really trust them and put yourself in their hands. But your job is to make sure that you are putting yourself in the right hands because it´s a really big, big decision and really big journey.