MSJ Known Egg Donor Membership Information Pack

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Known Egg Donor 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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General criteria

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Known Egg Donor benefits

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Your journey starts now…

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

Our personal stories Michael & Wes’ Journey 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.

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.

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Our personal stories

Francesca’s Journey

Anna’s 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.

Anna and her husband Ed are parents to Isla, and twins Olive and Art, thanks to two amazing surrogates. Like many women, Anna’s journey to motherhood was far more complicated and painful that she had ever realised was possible.

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).

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Two missed miscarriages and subsequent surgeries to remove the pregnancies left Anna with severe scarring of the womb - a condition known as Asherman’s Syndrome - so the lining necessary to maintain a pregnancy couldn’t develop. Five operations over 18 months failed to correct the scarring and Anna was told that she would never be able to carry a pregnancy.

Anna and Ed therefore turned to surrogacy and began researching the options at home and abroad. Awfully long waiting times to be matched with a surrogate, meant that Anna and Ed decided to go abroad, and Isla was conceived and born in India. For their sibling journey, they decided to go to America and the twins were born in the summer of 2018.

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.

Both journeys highlighted to Anna the complexities of international surrogacy and the challenges of trying to manage those journeys unassisted. Anna decided not to return to her job in financial services after her children were born so that she could support other people on their journey to parenthood through surrogacy.

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.

Anna has worked with the San Diego Fertility Center where her twins were born to help couples navigate surrogacy in the US and now works for My Surrogacy Journey.

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, and those that don’t, 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 also 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-forProfit organisation, ensuring every member is supported equally, and has a voice.

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, a confidential clinical consultation with our Fertility Nurse and one of the most experienced Surrogacy experts in the UK. Igenomix also provide Carrier screening (CGT Plus) giving all our Intended Parent and Known Egg Donor members peace of mind related to their genetics. For convenience all your blood work and hormone level tests are carried out in the privacy of your own home, via our partners Hertility Health. Finally, there is also an extensive educational and document library covering all aspects of the journey.

All Known Egg Donors receive legal support with an hour’s legal consultation. We want everyone to understand the current law, and your rights as a Known Egg Donor. This is available to both new and experienced donors. We have a duty of care to all our Member(s) to ensure everyone receives accurate and current legal advice.

To ease the pressure on fertility clinics, we have also partnered with EngagedMD, a consent platform ensuring complex HFEA consents are captured as part of the membership with My Surrogacy Journey – allowing clinics to concentrate more on patient care. We will also provide you with 2 years membership to the Donor Conception Network too, their service is designed to support all donors and donor conceived children and families – so it makes perfect sense to introduce yourself to them.

Whilst being a donor is incredibly rewarding it can also be quite gruelling, especially managing the medication. This is why our e-Fertility Nurse is on standby for support and encouragement. Then when your donation is complete, enjoy a recuperation break on us, a night in a nice hotel and a massage maybe?

You see – we’ve thought of everything

MSJ Partners The

Group®

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

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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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It’s all about our members

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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 Known Egg Donors, Surrogates, Intended Parents, and those offering services (Directory Members) to our Membership community, via the member portal.

What is a Known Egg Donor?

A Known Egg Donor (KED) is someone who donates their eggs to a friend or a relation and will obviously be aware of their identity. The donor conceived person will have complete access to their donor, should the parents disclose this – which is always our advice.

Donating your eggs for a friend or relative (or someone we can introduce you to, for you to build a relationship with) is incredibly rewarding, having a connection to the intended parents is incredibly special and witnessing the gift of family is a lifetime of fulfilment.

As a Known Egg Donor you will be compensated under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) guidance which is up to £750. It is illegal in the UK to be paid to donate your eggs.

Known Egg Donor Membership It is our promise to our members that Known Egg Donors are provided with the necessary emotional, practical, and logistical support at every stage of the donation journey.

We have thought of every single step in the process so that our known egg donors 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. However, we are only there if you need us.

The benefits listed on page 23 for Known Egg Donors, are designed to ensure that people like you, have dedicated support from several Healthcare professionals and experts. From our Fertility Nurses, BICA accredited Fertility Counsellors, and your very own experienced Known Egg Donor 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 several UK firsts for a Surrogacy organisation too, which is why we have over 30 membership benefits within our Known Egg Donor membership, that is more than any other UK organisation.

Our unique Known Egg Donor Professional Matching & Support service has been designed around those Intended Parents and Donors who want exceptional service and support throughout their surrogacy/ donation journey. We have partnered with Fenomatch who are providing with the latest AI fertility technology to assist in facial matching. It has been carefully and sensitively created to ultimately ensure IP(s) and donors have equal choice. Neither party should feel more in control – this is everyone’s journey.

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www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

Additional Membership benefits Some of the benefits include up to 3 hours professional counselling and a clinical consultation with a Fertility Nurse and experienced Known Egg Donor. Health screening including bloods and AMH levels is also managed via our partners at Hertility Health throughout and in the comfort of your own home.

There’s also educational content in The Portal too, which can guide and support you through the donation journey. There’s even a Welcome gift from the team, for registering with us.

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

Who is the membership designed for? Each membership is individually tailored around the needs of that journey. This membership is for Known Egg Donors, 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 Known Egg Donor roadmap infographic on page 23.

Are there any risks from donating your eggs?* Donating your eggs is generally very safe; most women and people won’t experience any health problems beyond the discomfort of having the treatment itself.

The few potential risks to be aware of are over responding to the treatment (OHSS), under responding to the treatment, the very small risk of complications resulting from the egg collection procedure.

It’s completely normal to have some side effects from the fertility medication. You may experience hot flushes, feeling irritable or down, symptoms associated with PMT, headaches and restlessness and fatigue.

In some rare cases women and people may develop ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

OHSS is usually very mild and can be managed by your clinic - its often an over response to the medication but in very rare cases, it can be hospitalisation may be needed.

You may start to feel the symptoms of OHSS just after your egg collection, usually egg donation cycles are managed so that the risk of OHSS is very small as certain types of medication and protocols are prescribed for donors to minimise the risk. Symptoms of OHSS include swelling and pain to the abdomen area, nausea, headaches, pain on passing urine, breathlessness and constipation.

If you have any reactions to your fertility drugs or suspect that you have symptoms of OHSS, it’s very important you let your clinic know straight away. Never feel like you’re wasting their time.

How long is the membership valid for?

Unlimited – we wanted to create a membership that ensures you have the freedom and choice to donate your eggs within a supportive pathway, guided by experts, counsellors, clinicians, and those with lived experience as a Known Egg Donor. What’s more, if you choose to donate again for a sibling journey to the same recipients, we won’t charge them for another KED membership. *HFEA.gov.uk website

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General criteria

www.MySurrogacyJourney.com

to become a Known Egg Donor

Known Egg Donors must…

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be aged between 18 and 35 as generally, natural fertility and egg quality starts to decline when you reach 35.

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have a clear medical history with no genetic or hereditary disorders (such as Type 1 Diabetes or Cystic fibrosis).

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have a BMI (Body Mass Index) between 19 and 30.

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be non-smoker or have stopped smoking for at least three months; e-cigarettes still count as smoking.

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be willing to attend regular clinic appointments, including counselling, to ensure you fully understand the implications of donating your eggs.

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be willing to be identifiable to any child born using your eggs.

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be willing to possibly change your current contraception if you are currently using the Mirena coil or implant.

If you have recently had a baby, we ask that you wait six months after giving birth to give your body a chance to recover, and you cannot be breastfeeding while donating or be pregnant.

General information you can request from your KED ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Age Height Weight BMI Natural hair colour Eye colour Race Skin tone Ethnicity Nationality Religion First language Other languages spoken Parent’s ethnicity Education level Qualifications Profession Marital Status Sexual orientation Number of children Age of children Images of them as children Home location Hobbies & Interests Traits and Characteristics Donor cycle history Reasons for wanting to be a donor

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

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