BEWARE OF DREAM SURROGACY!

Perhaps Dream Surrogacy used to be a decent agency, but as an Intended Parent who has struggled with Dream for the past 2 years, I strongly encourage hopeful parents to look for a more reputable agency to help them on their journey to parenthood.

As an IP who was not local, the “hands-on” approach Christina advertised was what originally sold me on her. I liked the idea of her attending appointments with the surrogate to support her, and allowing me to be better informed as to what was going on; but in reality Christina ended up missing most appointments (not entering the correct date in her calendar, showing up at the wrong clinic location for the first ultrasound, and offering endless excuses involving her personal life). She was frequently unresponsive and would drop out of contact for weeks/months at a time, not responding to calls or emails. As she is a sole proprietor without staff, when a client cannot reach her, you have no other option… and she has your money. Not a great situation to be in. The issues in her personal life translated into bigger issues for clients such as myself. Dream was paid a substantial agency fee ($20,000) and contracts were signed with the understanding that while there was no guarantee of a live birth, the agency would fulfill their duties in managing a surrogacy journey, including finding a replacement surrogate if needed. However, after a first trimester loss and the surrogate not being cleared to continue, I waited for over 15 months for a new match. During this time Christina repeatedly said she hired staff in other states and was recruiting new surrogates both in California and beyond. Yet in nearly 1.5 years of supposedly looking, she only identified one potential surrogate (who was in a risky state for surrogacy and charging above-average fees). I reached out to San Diego Fertility Clinic and 2 fertility lawyers, who all indicated they had not dealt with Christina much over the past year and that they were under the impression she was not focussed on her business, which was exactly what I was seeing as her client. After months of back and forth with Christina, she eventually provided a $3,000 refund – a pittance in the grand scheme of things. She kept $17,000 without attempting to find a replacement surrogate and when she did not complete any work in the second or third trimesters of pregnancy, nor surrounding a birth. A good scam for sure – get sucker IP’s to sign contracts and pay your fee and then don’t work to fulfill your end of the contract.

Skip Dream Surrogacy and look for an agency who is actually focused on their business and cares about their clients. I’ve heard amazing things about “Simple Surrogacy” and “A Host of Possibilities” (the later was featured in the uplifting documentary on surrogacy “Made In Boise” – a must watch for IP’s and surrogates alike). Both agencies have surrogates in states across the country with much lower base fees.

Good luck in your journey!