A (very) Brief History of Surrogacy...and Why It Matters to You

The dramatic growth in surrogacy over the last 30 years or so has evolved alongside the dramatic advancements in Assisted Reproductive Technology (or ART). Gestational Surrogacy specifically, which involves embryos that are created in a lab and are then transferred to a surrogate, really came-of-age in the 1980’s with the successful birth of the first baby from a frozen embryo.

In response to the overheated demand from Intended Parents who wanted to take advantage of these new found family-building options, small mom-and-pop agencies began to emerge in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s to meet this demand. These agencies would be responsible for finding and hiring the surrogate and, in turn, for managing the many complex aspects of her medical review process, the transfer of the embryo and her subsequent pregnancy. For this service, the IPs paid a fee to both the surrogacy agency and the surrogate for her time and effort.

Intended Parents (IPs), many of whom were unable to get pregnant due to unforeseen medical conditions, age, or because they were otherwise unable to conceive themselves, were given a new pathway to parenthood that hadn’t existed before. And it was the surrogacy agency that became the default intermediary, the connecting tissue between the IP, the IVF clinic, and the legal team who drafted the contracts.

For decades, the boundaries between the different parties were clearly defined. The clinic and the surrogate depended on the agency to steer the ship and lead the charge on behalf of their client, the Intended Parent, who paid not only the agency fee, but the fees of the surrogate, the clinic and the legal team. If all went well, if all the pieces came together as planned and God smiled on everyone, the IP was awarded with a beautiful baby (or two!) for their good efforts.

Like with the advent of any new innovations, the road to success and the mainstreaming of these technologies was not always a smooth ride. Nightmare scenarios involving parental rights between the surrogate and the IPs had to play out over the course of time and resolve themselves in the court of law. Accepted clinical protocols had to be agreed upon by the IVF medical community. But one thing that didn’t change was the “separation between church-and-state,” so to speak, that clearly delineated the role of the surrogacy agency from the IVF clinic.

All that changed about 5 years ago when Big Money started flowing into the business of IVF. Deep-pocketed private equity money started buying up IVF clinics and surrogacy agencies and placing them under the same umbrella management team. This had the effect of fundamentally changing the whole nature and personality of the business. Services that had been previously rendered by a small team of caring doctors, or case managers at the various agencies, and that were more akin to a family business were now suddenly being held to a different standard where the pursuit of profit became the number one priority.

At Jbaby we started seeing the impact of these changes unfold in real time. Staff were being downsized in the name of corporate efficiency. The net result was that the carved-out identity of the agencies and clinics that for years were driven by a desire to deliver a highly personalized level of high quality service to everyone involved in the IVF process were quickly replaced by bureaucratic entities that removed the personal touches that made the overall experience so special for all involved.

So why does this matter to you, a woman like yourself who may be considering becoming a surrogate for the first time? Because it ups the ante and the importance of carefully selecting an agency that will uphold the original values of our industry: a high level of personal care and attentiveness to the surrogate that is never compromised by the corporate values. Many of the agencies that are not out there are being managed by corporate overseers that will not put your personal interests first.

As a first-time surrogate, it will be your responsibility to choose carefully an agency that will treat you with kindness and consideration. At Jbaby, Kenji and I pride ourselves on making sure you are well taken care of. We make ourselves available 24/7 by providing direct access to us at any time should you have an immediate need or concern that simply can not wait until the morning. The best way to put this to the test is to get to know us before making any commitment. We look forward to hearing from you as youstart this remarkable, and important, journey as a surrogate.