When I decided to become a surrogate I reached out to a few companies to help get me started. I ended up listing my profile with a company called Fertility Bridges. This is where I originally met B and C. We did not end up using Fertility Bridges for anything more than matching us and setting up the first consultation.
Once a surrogate enters into an agreement with intended parents the profiles go into a "holding" pattern. Statuses are updated to show that the surrogate is cycling and it lists when she will be available to cycle again. You are required to wait 6 months after giving birth to start another journey. My profile read that I would be available in August/September of 2012.
After the girls were born I was sure that I would be a surrogate again. I immediately let Fertility Bridges know and it wasn't long before I started getting emails from the IP/Surrogate coordinator.
The first email was for the German couple I mentioned in my previous post. I had a really great phone consultation with them and decided to see if I could help them out. Before we could move forward I had to have a HLA and DQ test. Basically if I matched the husband I wouldn't be able to help them... and I was a match.
The second email was for the couple also mentioned in my previous post. I never heard back about the crazy doctor. I asked the coordinator and she told me they never matched with anyone. Imagine that.
The next email was for a couple in New York. They wanted to transfer their frozen embryos down here to make things easier but the costs of that combined with my surrogate fee wasn't feasible for them.
After that I spoke with a couple in Florida. I really thought things would work out with them but the clinic said no when they found out I had given birth to 7 kids. 4 or less was all they allowed.
The last one was a couple looking for someone with a specific blood type. Unfortunately my type is the exact one they were trying to avoid.
During all of the conversations back and forth with the coordinator I started thinking... what are the chances that she is trying to do what is best for me? It's like having one lawyer represent both sides. After a few discussions I got the feeling that she wasn't "selling" me but instead pushing IP's away from me. I'm sure it has to do with my base fee in comparison to other surrogates listed in their database. I'll admit that my fee is a bit more than some of the other surrogates but most of them are "new" and, like me when I started, don't know where to begin. I have the experience and I think that alone is worth a lot.
After talking with B a few times and hearing her side of things with Fertility Bridges I decided it was probably best to move on. I only intend to be a surrogate one or two more times and I think that I can accomplish that without the help of Fertility Bridges.
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