MSJ Surrogate Membership Information Pack

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Surrogate Membership Information pack

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

What is My Surrogacy Journey My Surrogacy Journey (MSJ) is ‘the latest UK not for profit’ Surrogacy organisation with varying levels of Membership. The only UK Surrogacy organisation offering pre-conception screening all the way through to Newborn genetic testing. Proud to be inclusive, offering emotional and practical support through every stage of the parenting journey, all because of our genuine lived experience.

Our Personal Stories

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MSJ Mission & Values

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MSJ Charter

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Changing the Game

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Meet the Team

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Advisory Board

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It’s all about our members

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Surrogate benefits

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Known Egg Donor benefits

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OfficialMySurrogacyJourney @MySurrogacyJny

For more information please visit

MySurrogacyJourney.com

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Your journey starts now…

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

Our personal stories Gina’s Journey At the age of 38 and after having three children of her own, Gina very much yearned for something more.

She never imagined she would step onto the pregnancy rollercoaster again let alone for someone else.

A friend from Gina’s school had written the most incredible book about their own journey to parenting, and she was moved at the long and tentative path they had to follow to reach their goal.

It was at that moment Gina realised she wanted to be a surrogate. In less than a year she had convinced her family to get on board, researched the legalities and joined every online group and page possible, jumping head long into the Surrogacy community. With the support of a lovely group of experienced Surrogates and Parents Gina met a wonderful lady who would become the Intended Mother of this journey. She instantly warmed to her. She refers to them as ‘F&M’, they became not only her friends but part of their extended family and together they were able to welcome two beautiful little girls into the world, ‘E’ in 2016 and ‘G’ in 2019.

In the beginning with Gina’s first surrogacy pregnancy, she shared only with those around her,

but as her growing belly became obvious it was all the more realistic and amazing that she was actually pregnant with another woman’s baby.

Soon, she would have questions from the wider community and the fact that it was nearly ten years after the completion of her own family, it was no wonder she was receiving an increasing number of incredulous stares.

It was during this period of Gina’s Surrogacy journey that she met Michael from TwoDadsUK and became taken with their outlook for the future of Surrogacy. They interacted occasionally over the next 18 months, and then finally in 2020 Michael and Wes contacted her with a proposal.

Gina is the MSJ Surrogate Member Coordinator who will focus on making sure our Surrogate Members are fully supported and take full advantage of all the Member benefits.

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Our personal stories

Francesca’s Journey

Michael & Wes’ Journey

Francesca is one of the UK’s leading Fertility nurse specialists with over 15 years of experience and has a special interest in Surrogacy and gamete donation.

Michael and Wes are the co-founders of My Surrogacy Journey and are Dads through UK Independent Surrogacy. They have two children, Talulah was born in 2016, and Duke in 2019.

Francesca’s enthusiasm for Fertility Nursing has taken her all over the globe, presenting at national and international conferences and sharing best practices whilst educating like-minded Nurses about the importance of Fertility Nursing, training and development for fertility nurses and sharing her experience of managing surrogacy programmes.

Francesca has worked for some of London’s leading Fertility Clinics and established Surrogacy teams which have since developed into award winning services.

She was awarded surrogacy fertility professional of the year in both 2018 and 2019 and has been heavily involved in the campaigning for change for surrogacy, writing national guidelines and contributed to the UK Surrogacy Law Reform which was led by All Party Parliamentary Group for surrogacy (APPG).

Francesca has recently been appointed as Chair elect for the Royal College of Nursing Fertility Nurses Forum which is a major fertility stakeholder group and the leading voice for fertility nursing staff in the UK. Francesca also has personal experience as an egg donor, in 2018 she donated her eggs to friends and now colleagues, Michael and Wes which resulted in the birth of Duke in 2019.

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They built their family through friendship and developed a solid relationship with their Gestational surrogate and her family.

When it came to eggs Michael and Wes also had additional help from two donors, one anonymous, and the other a friend.

Their known Donor is My Surrogacy Journey’s third co-founder, Francesca Steyn. Michael and Wes are also no stranger to campaigning for change in relation to the UK Law Reform and Healthcare policy.

They are passionate about developing an organisation which is balanced and supports everyone, and through realising the gaps in the journey process, My Surrogacy Journey was created.

www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

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MSJ Mission & Values Mission statement It’s all about our Members. Our commitment is to ensure we define a parental pathway through Surrogacy that includes everyone equally. We guide and support all members with unrivalled levels of counselling and practical support, from a trusted network of Surrogacy professionals and experts, medics and clinicians, utilising some of the latest technology platforms in the Fertility industry. We have considered everything. This is your journey.

Our values

Inclusive

Educational

Balanced Trusted

Choice

Innovative

Transparent

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

MSJ Charter My Surrogacy Journey is committed to ensuring that all Members are treated equally.

We promise to guide all our Members through every step of their journey, with transparency and equality ensuring our Surrogates, Known Egg Donors and Intended Parents are protected and supported. At the heart of this is the welfare of every child born through My Surrogacy Journey.

Every Directory Member and stakeholder must agree to operating within the MSJ charter. All Intended Parents, Surrogates and Known Egg Donors must also recognise these standards and agree to the principals upon which My Surrogacy Journey is founded.

Commitments The wellbeing of any woman will not be compromised in the pursuit of a surrogacy agreement.

All members agree to appropriate counselling prior to starting a journey.

All Surrogates and Known Egg Donors have fully understood and agreed to, without coercion, all aspects of any contract / an arrangement (in the case of the UK), entered into.

No surrogacy journey for Intended Parents whose country of origin will not grant citizenship for children born into surrogacy will be arranged.

A surrogacy journey is built on trust, respect, partnership and/or friendship.

All parties involved in My Surrogacy Journey agree to full transparency and will provide regular updates, on request, by our Members.

All parties dealing with our Members will always provide a range of choices and ensure that our Members are fully informed of their options.

Any relationship entered into through My Surrogacy Journey will always be balanced to ensure everyone is considered.

We will collectively agree to continue educating each other about legislative changes related to either Domestic or International Surrogacy. With the ultimate goal to teach and improve all parties’ understanding of the legalities related to Surrogacy and the impact on our Members.

All parties will be respectful of all our Members, by the language we use, the pronouns we choose, to ensure that the tone of voice is always inclusive.

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Changing the Game When Michael and Wes began their journey the demand on other not-for-profit organisations meant they had to explore independent UK Surrogacy.

They dived deep into the online Surrogacy communities, made a tonne of friends and contacts and began learning about UK Surrogacy, the do’s and don’ts, the clinics who genuinely specialise in Surrogacy, Egg Donor wait lists, the current Law and the reform, the Parental Order process and the limited professional counselling available. It was clear there was an opportunity to combine technology with support, and to also bring together a team of Fertility and Surrogacy experts to form one of the most admired Advisory Boards for a UK Surrogacy Not for Profit organisation, ensuring every member is supported equally and has a voice.

The first UK family building finance product – Hatchling Fertility Finance Welcome to Hatchling; a finance product designed to help get you started on your fertility and family building journey.

Often the barrier with building your family with reproductive medicine can be the cash reserves to begin the initial treatment and costs attributed to it, especially related to international surrogacy.

UK surrogacy fertility treatment can cost (with donor eggs) up to £26,000, plus your surrogate’s expenses of a further £10k - £15k. Even more costly is a US family building journey, this can cost around $160k - $200k, therefore we wanted to find the solution to legitimately allow you to finance the complete experience, including legal and insurance fees and even our membership costs.

We’re passionate about tackling some of the challenges around financial infertility for those in the UK, and this product is testament to this. Whether you’re wanting to build your family in the UK via Surrogacy, or you want an international treatment pathway – we have the only UK solution of its kind available; and we’ve cracked it! With borrowing starting from £25,001 – to in excess of £500,000, we wanted to ensure everyone has options to complete their family building.

We have developed an exclusive relationship with the FCA regulated underwriters, James Evans Financial Services. This product was created and designed with all of our lived experience in mind.

A product which takes the stress out of raising funds for domestic surrogacy IVF treatment or for an international family building journey.

Added flexibility An international family building journey can have multiple staged payments along the way.

Therefore, our product has the added flexibility to ‘draw down’ cash/dollars when you need it, meaning you only pay interest (and pay) on what you’re using. International currency exchange is managed via Cornhill FX. This allows you to trade professionally with our experts and purchase high volumes of cash.

Included in our Membership are several other UK firsts for a UK Surrogacy organisation such as ten hours of emotional support including professional BICA counselling throughout the entire journey, Pre-Conception genetic testing and New-born screening, offered from Igenomix. An extensive educational and document library covering all aspects of the journey, which goes beyond the birth, ensuring that all parties are medically, emotionally and legally informed.

All Intended Parents also receive home Sperm Testing kits via ExSeed, the leading testing and fertility improvement kit designed to further support and help encourage men to speak up and get fit for fertility.

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

One of the challenges for Surrogates and Known Egg Donors can be the bloody tests required for your sexual health screening and onboarding. Our friends at Hertility Health will ensure all your screening and blood tests, including ovarian egg reserve levels (a AMH test) for Known Egg Donors is carried out in the privacy of your own home with a simple finger prick test. No racing around to book Doctors or hospital appointments. Simple, and designed around you.

To ease the pressure on fertility clinics, we have also partnered with EngagedMD, a consent platform ensuring complex regulatory HFEA consents are captured as part of the membership with My Surrogacy Journey – allowing clinics to concentrate more on patient care. Intended Parents and Known Egg Donors also receive two-year membership to The Donor Conception Network, allowing further access to support and information for donor conceived families and children. A specialist e-Midwife will also help guide and support those on their journey too.

We also provide support to Surrogates and IP’s via a Fertility Dietitian thanks to UK Fertility Nutrition, taking care of getting fit for fertility and maintaining a healthy diet through pregnancy.

My Surrogacy Journey has partnered with Fenomatch, facial matching software which compares over 12,000 biometric measurements to find the donor with the greatest facial resemblance to the Intended Parent(s), taking known egg donor matching to another level.

Birthing options are very important to every pregnancy, this is why our partnership with The Mindful Birth Group means your Surrogate is supported virtually, when understanding all the birthing options, including the how to practice mindfulness, and hypnobirthing specific to pregnancy and birth. This will help to support everyone during your wonderful and highly emotional journey. We’ve also ensured that Intended Parents understand the birthing process which in turn will help them support their surrogate better.

Lush Tums are also on board to allow Intended Parents and Surrogates to explore pregnancy Yoga together.

Connect with your surrogate and your pregnancy, or if you’re a surrogate who enjoys yoga; try this wonderful class.

Quite often Intended Parents via Surrogacy are excluded from or don’t quite fit into the norm that is antenatal classes. This tends to be challenging to find a suitable class, we decided to change that! We’ve partnered with Born Human. Founded from a unique perspective of lived experience, clinical and academic expertise we work with parents in diverse settings to provide education, support their mental wellbeing and find a healthy balance that recognises them as individuals and as parents.

Parenthood is a major cause of stress, anxiety and other mental health concerns. By creating safe, confidential and non judgemental spaces to explore people’s journeys, our programmes are designed to encourage honest conversations and normalise those challenges.

Daddy – The Sleep Consultant is also providing his incredible support via a 1:1 two-hour consultation which covers the Foundations of Sleep, with further programmes available should you need them.

When you’re ready to bring your baby home we’ve also partnered with The Doula Association, providing you with exceptional support from your very own personal Doula. New babies don’t come with instructions unfortunately, but with this wonderful collaboration we will ensure all the basics (and beyond) are covered, we’re committed to supporting more new Parents, caring for their baby. Through our Surrogate membership a Doula will also support your surrogate too, with birth preparation and both birth recovery support. You see – we’ve thought of everything.

MSJ Partners The

Group®

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Meet the team Wes Johnson-Ellis

Kellie Lombard

Founder, Operations Director & Same Sex IP Membership Co-ordinator

Membership Sales UK & Europe

Michael Johnson-Ellis Founder, Marketing Director & Irish IP Membership Co-ordinator

Francesca Steyn Founder, Fertility Nurse Specialist & Clinical Lead

Gina Kinson Surrogate Membership Co-ordinator

Anna Buxton UK Hetero IP’s & International Surrogacy Membership Co-ordinator

Kelly Dwyer Directory Membership Co-ordinator

Maureen Osayi Irish IP Membership Support Co-ordinator

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Tracey Sainsbury Senior Fertility Counsellor

John Lippitt Senior Fertility Counsellor

Kelly Da Silva Fertility Mentor

Hayley Aldis Surrogate Co-ordinator

Mary Tatlow Project Co-ordinator

Leigh Harris Financial Controller

Sophie Smith Known Egg Donor & Hetero IP Co-ordinator

www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

Advisory Board

Francesca Steyn Nursing and Clinical

Anna Buxton Hetero IP’s & International Surrogacy

Gina Kinson Experienced Surrogate

Andrew Spearman Head of Family Law, Laytons LLP Surrogacy Law

Sophie Martin Registered Midwife The Infertile Midwife

James Lawford-Davies Partner, Hill Dickinson LLP Quality and Compliance

Richard B. Vaughn, Esq. Founder, International Fertility Law Group Inc.

Kelly Da Silva Emotional Support and Fertility Treatment Support

Dr Kirsty Horsey Director of Education, Reader in Law Kent Law School, University of Kent

Tracey Sainsbury Senior Fertility Counsellor BICA Accredited Counselling

Lyndon Miles Director & Consultant Embryologist at CRGW Scientific

John Lippett Senior Fertility Counsellor BICA Member Counselling

Nina Barnsley Director of Donor Conception Network Donor Conceived Support

Carole Gilling Smith Medical Director & CEO, The Agora Fertility/HIV+/Trans Patients

Hilary Smith International Client Relations, UK & Europe Extraordinary Conceptions Surrogacy & Egg Donation

Dr Said Daneshmand Internationally Recognised Fertility Specialist San Diego Fertility Centre

David Ogutu MRCOG Medical Director, Consultant Gynaecologist Herts & Essex Fertility Centre

Rachel West Partner at Carbert Waite, LLP Specialist Canadian Surrogacy Attorney

Mr Ali Al Chami Fertility Consultant, CRGH

Kreena Dhiman Cancer & Fertility Advocate

Michelle Avery Canadian Fertility Consultant Specialist, JA Surrogacy Consulting

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

It’s all about our members When we say ‘it’s all about our Members’, we mean it. For us, Members are Surrogates, Intended Parents, Known Egg Donors and those offering services (Directory Members) to our Membership community, via the member portal.

Surrogate Membership It is our promise to our members that surrogates are provided with the necessary emotional, practical, and logistical support at every stage of the surrogacy journey.

We have thought of every single step in the process so that our surrogates can be educated, prepared, paying specific attention to not only their emotional and practical needs, but their partner and their families too – resulting in a supported, and successful journey. We can even act as mediators too, if the relationship needs it in the early days, particular around expenses. However, we’re only there if you need us. This is your journey too.

All our Members are treated equally, Surrogates and Known Egg Donors have a home here at MSJ. In the same way Intended parents need to be prepared and supported, so do Surrogates and Known Egg Donors.

The benefits listed on page 21 and 23 for Surrogates and Known Egg Donors respectively, are designed to ensure that these people like you, have dedicated support from a number of Healthcare professionals and experts. From our Fertility Nurses, BICA accredited Fertility Counsellors, our Midwife, Doulas, Hypnobirthing Specialist, and your very own experienced Surrogate co-ordinator. We want to ensure your experience reflects the incredible gift you are giving and the family you are helping build.

We also wanted to create a number of UK firsts for a Surrogacy organisation too, which is why we have over 50 membership benefits within our Surrogate membership, that’s more than any other UK organisation.

Our unique Surrogate professional Matching & Support service has been designed around those Intended Parents and Surrogates who want exceptional service and support throughout their Surrogacy journey. It has been carefully and sensitively created to ultimately ensure IP(s) and Surrogates have equal choice. Neither party should feel more in control – this is everyone’s journey.

Additional Membership benefits Some of the benefits up to 10 hours professional counselling and emotional support for you (and your partner), Health screening, DBS checks (and your partner), 2 years life insurance, legal support, professional birthing support, injection support from a Fertility Nurse, e-Midwife support throughout, over 100 pieces of educational content in The Portal, genetic screening at 10 weeks gestation, a postnatal support programme to include weight management support if required and access to a lactation specialist.

There’s even a Welcome gift from the team, for registering with us. We’ve even included a Merlin Pass for a family of four to ensure everyone’s taken care of whilst you enjoy your own thrill-seeking journey.

Above all of this you will have your own dedicated single point of contact via our experienced Surrogate team. Check the Surrogate roadmap for a complete list of benefits.

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

Who is the membership designed for? Each membership is individually tailored around the needs of that journey. This particular membership is for Surrogates, and its FREE for YOU to join My Surrogacy Journey.

That’s what makes us different. It’s all about our members. Please also refer to the Surrogate roadmap infographic on page 21.

How long is the membership valid for?

Unlimited – and the benefits begin again, if you decide on a sibling journey or match again with another Member. DBS checks are completed for every match, paid for by My Surrogacy Journey.

For those also interested in becoming a Known Egg Donor, we’ve also created a list of Membership benefits for those members too. Ask us for more information.

Surrogate Criteria At My Surrogacy Journey we take our responsibility for our members very seriously and we want all our Members to have a safe and supported journey.

Our criteria for becoming a Surrogate Member has been created by both our Surrogate lead our Fertility Nurse and our Medical advisors. We have a duty of care to you, and we want to ensure you have a smooth and safe pregnancy. Pregnancy carries risk, which is why we want to make sure you meet our criteria as set out below. We’re here to ultimately make sure we safeguard everyone, including you and the baby you are choosing to carry. n

Aged 21 - 43 for a first time Surrogate

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Aged 43 – 45 for if you are completing a sibling journey

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No more than 2 previous C-sections

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Fit and healthy both physically and mentally with no underlying health issues

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UK Domiciled

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Non-smoker/vape/recreational drug use (or have given up 3 months prior)

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BMI between 20 - 35

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Alcohol consumption within the UK Government recommended weekly guidelines

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Be willing to have fertility treatment as part of the process

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Complete My Surrogacy Journey confidential sexual health screening

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Criminal records (Basic DBS) and identity check for the proposed surrogate and their partner

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Able to obtain a letter from your GP to confirm there is no medical reason why you can’t be a surrogate.

If you are interested in Surrogate Membership, but have questions with regards to our criteria, please speak to our Surrogacy team in confidence who may be able to assist you understanding how you may be able to achieve the above.

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Surrogate Membership

www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

Benefits Getting started ■

My Surrogacy Journey (MSJ) welcome pack with tailored Surrogate information to get you started on your journey, whether you’re new or an experienced Surrogate

The Legals ■

1 hour legal consultation with a surrogacy legal expert (M)

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Will writing service (M)

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Parental order support service including CAFCASS process (M)

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Surrogate profile building assistance programme

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Surrogacy in the UK Surrogate information pack

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Surrogates expenses explained programme

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MSJ and the expectations of a surrogate explained

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Relationship management - how to maintain a balanced relationship between all parties

Fertility/pregnancy rights in the workplace helpline (M)

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Intention agreement support (M)

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Understanding the journey options

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Dedicated MSJ Surrogate APP – coming soon

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Surrogate health screen

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Surrogate and Partner Identity & Basic DBS check through Experian

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IP & Surrogate matching service

Trying to conceive, Clinics & Science ■

NACE24 – non-invasive prenatal test for Surrogate once pregnant, detects chromosomal aneuploidies in all 24 chromosomes as well as the sex of the baby (P)

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Love Honey gift card (M)

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Injection support and treatment support from a fertility nurse

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E-Fertility nurse support throughout

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2 virtual consultations (1 hour each) with a specialist fertility dietitian

Emotional Support ■

1 hour virtual confidential clinical consultation

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Virtual sessions with your MSJ Co-ordinator

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5 hours of virtual session with a BICA accredited specialist counsellor (M)

Pregnancy

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2 hour virtual session with your Fertility Mentor (M)

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NHS birthing preparation, access to all NHS trust surrogacy policies (P)

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Surrogate specific yoga and meditation classes (P)

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2 hour virtual hypnobirthing session with The Mindful Birth Group (P)

Practical Support ■

Dedicated Surrogate helpline

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Dedicated Surrogate Co-ordinator

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Access to MSJ closed Surrogate support groups

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E-Midwife support throughout (P)

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Access to experienced Surrogates for support and information

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Information on nutrition and healthy lifestyle during pregnancy (P)

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Access to dedicated Surrogate document library

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Access to surrogate specific educational library

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MSJ information event - Surrogates

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Access to regular webinars

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£200k worth of life insurance cover for 2 years (P)

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Access to EngagedMD consents and information platform (M)

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Access to a lactation specialist for support and advice with pumping and collecting colostrum (P)

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Preparing for the birth and post birth programme - 5 hours of virtual Doula sessions (M)

Membership to Merlin pass for a family of 4 (1 year) or weekend break (P)

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Ongoing advice and support for registration of birth

£300 clothing voucher

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Online weight management support programme (M)

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Postnatal support programme (M)

M - Available when matched P - Available when pregnant

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Birth & Post Birth

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Known Egg Donor Membership

www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

Benefits

Getting started ■

My Surrogacy Journey (MSJ) welcome pack Known Egg Donor information to get you started on your donation journey

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IP Profile building assistance programme

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Introduction to your MSJ Co-ordinator

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Known Egg Donor compensation explained

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Relationship management how to maintain a balanced relationship between IP's and Known Egg Donor

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Known Egg Donor health screening

The Legals ■

One hour consultation with a specialist lawyer

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Fertility rights in the workplace helpline

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Intention agreement support

Emotional Support Practical Support ■

UK based co-ordinator

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Dedicated Known Egg Donor helpline

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Access to MSJ closed Facebook groups

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MSJ Passport

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Access to dedicated Known Egg Donor document library

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Access to Known Egg Donor specific educational library

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Access to regular webinars

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Access to EngagedMD consents and information platform

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1 year membership to Donor Conception Network

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Rest and recovery weekend break to the value of £250

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1 hour confidential clinical consultation

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Virtual sessions with your MSJ co-ordinator

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2 hours of virtual sessions with a BICA accredited specialist counsellor

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Genetic counselling

Clinics & Treatments ■

Carrier testing - CGT PLUS analyses 450 genes related to 550 diseases (for one Intended Parent)

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Injection and treatment support from a fertility nurse

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E-Fertility nurse support throughout

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MySurrogacyJourney.com

If you would like to discuss being a Surrogate or just require more information, then contact us at Joinus@mysurrogacyjourney.com

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