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Tricia Turner, Assistant Director, The Surrogacy SOURCE, April 18, 2011

Intended parents’ hopes and dreams seem to be just out of reach sometimes. When they are told they are unable to create their family on their own and need assistance, they may start researching how to put together a “team” who can help them reach their goal. The key players of their “team” may include any of the following, an agency, a surrogate, an egg donor, a sperm donor, a fertility clinic, and a third party reproduction attorney. Each party needed plays a vital role during this amazing journey of family creation.

by April Alvarado, Case Manager, Texas, Colorado and Southern California, Fertility SOURCE Companies, February 1, 2011

by Melodie Shank, Consultant, Fertility SOURCE Companies, December 8, 2011

When you are in the thick of it, it often seems that nothing is simple when it comes to an egg donor cycle.

Most intended parents arrive at the door to egg donation after a grueling in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle, or two, or three or … more. Somehow, after all of this, the strength, courage and money is found to try again with an egg donor.

After this voyage to the emotionally charged decision to work with an egg donor, then arrives what, for many, can be the most difficult part of the infertility journey: donor selection. The “Match.comminess” begins. Dizzying lists of available donors are perused, for weeks, often months in what many describe as a completely surreal experience. Then, she appears. Perhaps the same smile, the same almond-shaped eyes, the same love of animals, or the perfect combination of many things. Finally, things seem to be turning in your favor. Except for one small catch. You live in San Francisco, and your dream donor lives in Boston. But she is your egg donor, you just know it. Thus begins an added complication and expense to an already complicated and expensive endeavor.

by Pamela MacPhee, Author, Delivering Hope: The Extraordinary Journey of a Surrogate Mom, August 24, 2011

When attorney Theresa Erickson interviewed me for her surrogacy radio show, she seemed like a professional, so I was incredibly disillusioned when it was recently brought to light that she and two others had been operating what prosecutors call a “baby-selling ring” masquerading as surrogacy. Here's my two cents on this disaster.

When I set out to bring a baby into the world for my cousin and his wife so they could experience the joy of a family, the term “baby selling” never entered my mind. With their harvested eggs and sperm, an embryo was created, frozen in storage in hopeful anticipation. For months in preparation we discussed and evaluated the possibilities and risks that surrogacy presented, embarking together in mutual trust and understanding on a journey to bring their baby into the world, to begin their family. After a successful embryo transfer, we supported each other in a deep and meaningful relationship to navigate the sometimes trying emotional and physical challenges of sharing a pregnancy, and I delivered a healthy 7 pound girl to them in joyful triumph and relief. My time and efforts were recognized and appreciated, but nothing was “sold."