Why Surrogate matching takes time?

Once embryos safely reach the clinic or are created in the destination country, for surrogate matching we are considering 3 months from now on. Why it takes up to 3 months? This is one of the most frequently asked questions from Intended parents, so let us summarize some important aspects below.

The team matches one-to-one rather than by a waiting list, so the goal is to find the right surrogate considering the expectations that Intended parents may have from the candidate. Initial profiling is the key, which means each candidate should be from 25-38 age (recommended age range based on our and the field experts’ experience), their BMI (Body mass index) should not exceed 28, they should have at least 1 own child, not more than 1 C section, must live in the country (preferable city) where the program is implemented and obviously, they should be approved by a psychologist to engage in this long and emotional journey. Quite a large number of candidates dropping out at this stage.

So how the process works step by step:

1. 1. First of all, the team needs to make sure that the selected surrogate is emotionally and mentally ready, and fully understands her responsibility, for this, we are arranging several in-person meetings, and interviews, just to better know her and understand her motivations and expectations from this process. For us well well-being of the surrogate is equally important as of you. They become our big family members for around 16-18 months and we would love to make sure they are good fits for you and all of us. This step takes around 15-20 days.
   2. Secondly, after the initial evaluation, we are moving forward with psychological evaluation which is a huge part of the process, apart from an in-depth interview, the team always does an MMPI-II test, which is the same as is done in the United States (guidelines of the ASRM). Then the psychologists add some projective tests as well, but which ones may vary. Those tests take time too. At least 2-3 consultations are needed before the psychologist provides a written conclusion, approving or declining her to continue the process. Those steps are well explained to each candidate to ensure they are with us in this and fully understand that there are steps that we need to follow. If she is not suitable for this journey we will inform them and explain why she was not at this stage, if there are some factors that she could improve they can try once again for sure. This step takes another 15-20 days.
   3. And lastly, after psychological approval, we start laboratory tests and ultrasounds which are fully linked to the period of the women. If any of them are on Oral contraceptives or any other type of contraception based on medical team recommendations they should stop taking them and once their period starts we are starting all the tests. Testing takes time, around 35-45 days.

If all requirements are met we are ready to organize her legal consultation with an independent lawyer just to make sure she fully understands her responsibilities and at the same time, ensure she feels comfortable, confident that her rights are well protected. After this, we are ready to present her profile to you and organize a Zoom meeting with her. Having your confirmation is key and once we have it (it should be provided 5 days after the Zoom meeting) we are ready to move ahead with legal paperwork and medical steps for embryo transfer.

Here just to let you know some general information: usually matching periods in many other countries are the following: Georgia- up to 4-6 months, USA – up to 6-9 months, Canada – up to 12 months, and so on so having 3 months is incredible, however, we are always informing parents that we have to consider 4 months as sometimes medical team declines way more candidates than expected. (average from candidate pool around 10-15% of candidates are approved).