Surrogacy is a unique pathway that allows you to give the ultimate gift – the gift of family.
At the Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia, our team of experienced professionals and former surrogates stand ready to guide you every step of the way. We ensure a supportive, well-managed process that respects your commitment and bravery.
We pride ourselves in being an agency committed to developing meaningful relationships with Intended Parents and Surrogates equally, communicating with compassion (and sometimes humor), and offering competitive compensation to surrogates while remaining affordable for Intended Parents.
A surrogate, or more specifically a gestational carrier, is a person who generously agrees to carry a pregnancy for another individual or couple—the intended parents—with the intention of giving them the precious gift of a child. At our agency, we specialize in gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate has no genetic link to the baby they carry. The child is conceived through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) using the eggs and sperm of the intended parents or donors. Before the surrogacy journey begins, both the Intended Parents and the Surrogate sign a contract, and the Surrogate is compensated for her services.
If you wish to become a gestational surrogate, you must meet the following requirements:
When you make the choice to take part in surrogacy, you’ll have the chance to help all kinds of people create families of their own. The people helped by surrogacy are from all walks of life, of all sexual orientations, and of varying ethnic backgrounds. Some of the people who work with surrogates are married and some aren’t.
Here’s a brief listing of people who may turn to surrogacy so they can have families of their own:
At the Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia, we realize how intensely personal the surrogacy journey is. That’s why surrogates in our program choose their Intended Parents. Everyone gets to meet, hear each others’ stories, and decide if they would like to move forward on a surrogacy journey together.
Why does someone decide to become surrogate? The most common reason is to help others. While not a requirement, many surrogates have also finished growing their own families and enjoyed uncomplicated pregnancies. They also really enjoyed being pregnant.
At the Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia, many of our surrogates enjoy working with us so much they decide to sign up for a second or third journey. Surrogates in our program are compensated fairly and reach their personal financial goals (ex. saving for college, purchasing a new vehicle or making a downpayment on a home) as a result of successfully completing a journey. Surrogacy is life changing for all parties!
The surrogacy process can be divided into ten steps. On average, the process takes 18 months.
After submitting your application, a case manager will conduct an interview with you by phone or Zoom. Our team members will answer all your questions. If you do choose to become a surrogate, we will perform background checks, gather and review of your medical information and records, send you for clearance at an OBGYN and MFM, and perform a psychological screening of you and your partner. The entire screening process usually takes six to eight weeks, with most time spent on gathering records from your medical providers. Finally, we will contact you and let you know if you are cleared to match.
You will work with us to create a matching profile. You are able to answer questions about your hopes for your surrogacy journey, write a letter to future Intended Parents and upload pictures. This profile is private and only shared on a one-on-one basis with suitable parents in our program.
We first share profiles of intended parents with you. If you would like to get to know a particular family better, we will send your profile to them and arrange a meeting that will be facilitated by your case manager. This is a way for you to get acquainted with the intended parents in an open, non-judgmental, no-pressure way. Often, the result of this meeting is a verbal agreement to move forward with the process. You're welcome to look at several profiles and meet with more than one set of Intended Parents. The quality of your match is so important to us!
Upon match, you will work on a “gestational carrier agreement” along with your intended parents. The contract lists all the details of each party’s expectations and monetary obligations. The Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia will pay for an independent, qualified attorney to help you review the contract and make any changes that you request.
We will set up an escrow account that contains your surrogacy compensation. The account is with an independent escrow company, keeping it totally secure and transparent. You can login online anytime to view your escrow account, and see past and future payments. All compensation is paid to you promptly by direct deposit.
Now that contracts are complete, you will go to the fertility clinic for additional evaluation. You’ll undergo ultrasounds, as well as blood work to check your hormone levels and for infectious diseases. The clinic staff will also explain the upcoming medical protocol that will prepare your body for the embryo transfer.
The medical protocol that you will follow is called your embryo transfer cycle. You will be given a calendar by the fertility clinic, which includes medications (oral and by injection) that will prepare your body for the embryo. You’ll be visiting the clinic every few days during your cycle so your hormone levels can be monitored and your uterine lining thickness can be assessed. When the timing is right (usually after 2-3 weeks of medications), you will undergo the embryo transfer, which is a quick, painless procedure. A tiny catheter will transfer the embryo into your uterus by ultrasound guidance.
If the first transfer is a success, you’ll be confirmed pregnant! You will visit the clinic at least two times to measure HCG levels in your blood. About four-to-six weeks into the pregnancy, the medical team will perform an ultrasound and verify that there’s a fetal heartbeat. Upon confirmation of heartbeat, you will receive the rest of your care from your regular obstetrician.
We’ll provide you with an attorney during the fifth month of the pregnancy to finish the paperwork required for your intended parents to reaffirm their legal rights over their child by surrogacy. The attorney files the paperwork with the courts in the county that you’re expected to deliver in. You don’t have to appear in court. It is an administrative process to get a pre-birth order so that the names of the intended parents (not yours) will go directly onto the birth certificate when the baby is born.
We’ll help you create a detailed birth plan so that there’s no ambiguity on delivery day. Additionally, we work closely with the hospital, coordinating with social work, labor & delivery staff, and the registration office to provide them with the documentation they need. Your case manager will make sure everything goes smoothly. We will also be following up to make sure that you are doing well physically and emotionally after birth.
The entire process of surrogacy usually takes about 18 months, but there are many factors that can make it longer or shorter.
When you fill out the initial application, our team will get back to you within 48 hours. Your initial screening will take about 45 days, as we work to gather records from your providers, and conduct background checks and evaluations. Upon completion of screening, you will be able to be immediately matched. Contracts typically take a month to complete and then the medical cycling protocol takes another two months. Hopefully, you are pregnant within one transfer attempt! If not, we will repeat cycle coordination.
Our team, equipped with personal surrogacy experiences, appreciates the profound nature of your gift. We’re here to ensure your journey is as smooth and fulfilling as possible, providing caring guidance throughout the process (not just matching). Our case managers build meaningful relationships with the families they support.
We celebrate our surrogates for the life-changing role they play. In addition to the compensation you receive, there are many opportunities to interact with others in our program (both virtually and in person). This is one of the benefits of having a local program that is based in the Philadelphia region.
There are many variables, but the most common compensation packages are valued at $60,000 or more. That range includes several parts like the base fee (which is $45,000 for a first-time surrogate and over $50,000 for experienced carriers), additional monthly allowances, payments for milestones like starting injectable medications, 100% coverage for medical expenses, insurance, reimbursement for travel, and other benefits the surrogate receives from day-one.
One of the most common questions women have before deciding to become a surrogate mother is: “What will I be compensated?” It’s perfectly understandable. Gestational surrogacy is both a physical and emotional process that deserves fair compensation.
At the Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia, we calculate compensation packages by taking into account where the surrogate mother resides, whether or not she has surrogacy-friendly health insurance, and whether she has previously been a gestational surrogate who has successfully completed a journey.
Intended parents use their own embryos and the surrogate carries the child for them. The embryos can be created in several ways. Parents can donor ovum or the mother’s own ovum. They can use donor sperm or the father’s own sperm. It’s important to understand that the surrogate mother does not have any genetic relationship with the baby in gestational surrogacy. She simply carries someone else’s baby – the precious cargo until it’s ready to enter the world through the miracle of birth.
Of course. You will be able to look through detailed profiles of families that could be potential matches for you. If you feel like connecting with them, our team will set up a meeting that we facilitate. After the meeting, and follow up conversations, you will be matched if all parties are in agreement with the decision.
We are unique in that we offer exceptionally personalized support during the surrogacy process along with competitive, fair compensation packages. Our case managers promptly answer emails, texts, and phone calls, and act as advocates for you along the way. Additionally, we host social events like play-dates and fun lunches for surrogates and their families who are in our program. We differ from most national surrogacy agencies because we minimize your travel. The majority of Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia families live right in the Greater Philadelphia area and work closely with local clinics.
You and the intended parents sign a detailed contract that outlines all the compensation you receive. This is called a “gestational carrier agreement,” and it spells out everything you need to know. For instance, all your payments are maintained by a professional escrow company. Each month, you’ll get a direct deposit from the escrow firm. Plus, you will be able to log into your escrow account whenever you wish and view your total compensation amount, see how much has already been paid, and what remains to be paid to you.
No. It’s important to understand from the beginning that the intended parents cover all costs related to your surrogacy. Some of these items include childcare expenses, co-payments for medical services, insurance premiums, and more. These represent totally separate payments that are in addition to the compensation you get for being pregnant and carrying their baby.
You won’t have to travel far. That’s because the Surrogacy Center of Philadelphia, unlike most surrogacy agencies, works with local clinics and most of our Intended Parents are within two hours of Center City Philadelphia. This a big benefit of working with a local program like ours! We understand that travel can be a challenge. It’s even more of a burden when you have to take care of your own family at the same time. In the rare event that you do have to travel, all of your expenses are covered.
