Surrogacy Australia Support Service (SASS) provides a personal approach to helping you to build your family. Any surrogacy journal can encounter issues and even well-laid plans can stray off course. Surrogacy journeys are not predictable.
SASS can help you create strongly-grounded foundations so that key decisions are made early on. And, if things go awry, SASS can help you to stabilise and get back on track to focus on the next steps. The SASS team understands the highs and lows of fertility and surrogacy and will be there to support you through both.
There are many different reasons why you may need the help of a surrogate to build your family. Many intended parents have endured difficult journeys and may feel daunted about what lies ahead. The support and experience of the SASS team can help reduce anxiety about the next steps.
If you are gay or hetero, single or couple, and thinking of building your family through surrogacy, there are various issues to think through. SASS can help you:
- Demystify medical lingo and choose an IVF clinic
- Decide whether to look for a surrogate in Australia or abroad
- Understand your legal responsibilities
- Establish an appropriate budget
- Determine how much time are you prepared to invest
- Connect you with other intended parents who have completed successful surrogacy journeys
Supporting Australian surrogacy
SASS can assist in potentially introducing you to a screened and fully-prepared surrogate, and to support you through every step of the journey all the way to the birth.
If you already have a surrogate, SASS can still provide support for your surrogacy journey.
Surrogacy in Australia is evolving and SASS is committed to providing a safe and legal process for all. Initially, we will get to know you, and ask you to provide information about your plans.
SASS will:
- talk in detail to you about your expectations and how our service works
- have you complete a detailed application form
- help you create a profile so we can match you with a screened surrogate who, together with her family, is as aligned to you as possible.
SASS can talk through your specific concerns and considerations. We want to make sure that you are completely informed about what is involved throughout the journey.
Working with a surrogate you gel with
We can assist in putting the right surrogacy ‘teams’ together. There is no fixed timeframe and given the high demand, there is no guarantee that you will find the right surrogate here in Australia. However, if Australian surrogacy is of interest, we will do our best to support you in locating a suitable surrogate.
Once we have a surrogate who has cleared our screening and who we think may meet your needs, we will share your profile information with her.
We introduce potential surrogates to you based on her location, shared values, as well as key issues like views on termination, treatment preferences and the kind of relationship that you each hope to have during and after your journey. We will give you an opportunity to ask about one another before agreeing to meet. If you both feel that you would like to meet, we will introduce you.
We take this part of our job very seriously and spend time on the detail – it is our aim that you will ‘click’ and form a bond at the early stages of your relationship together.
Reaching your agreement
If everyone is keen to proceed, it is important that you take your time to build a solid friendship. This will take several months. We can provide you with advice to help you plan possible expenses and manage setbacks.
Fertility treatment
We know the best IVF professionals for surrogacy from across Australia to work with and can recommend a clinic with a proven track record and supportive approach in regard to surrogacy. Alternatively, you may have an existing relationship with a clinic you or your surrogate prefers to work with.
Pregnancy support
We will help you and your surrogate to support each other all the way through the pregnancy. We will check in with you all regularly and be on hand to help you with any concerns, no matter how big or small. We will help you to plan for the birth, both practically and emotionally, to ensure that all goes as smoothly as possible.
The birth and after
We will support you and your surrogate in the weeks after the birth, making sure everyone has the appropriate professional support at this sensitive time.
