It doesn’t matter if you’re an Intended Parent pursuing surrogacy in Australia, or a Surrogate looking to help make a families dream a reality, there are crucial members that will make up your Australian surrogacy team.
In this post, Happy Minds outline the different members of any Australian surrogacy team and the members that will build the foundation of your surrogacy journey in Australia.
Intended Parents
Intended Parents are an important member of a surrogacy team. Intended Parents can be either single or couples, suffering with either medical or social infertility, which means they need help from a surrogate to bring a child into their lives.
The goals and dreams of Intended Parents are a large part of what motivates everyone involved in the journey, and form the foundation of any surrogacy journey in Australia.
Egg Donors
In some cases, an egg donor will be required to make your surrogacy journey a reality. An egg donor is exactly how they sound, they donate genetic material (donor eggs) in order for Intended Parents to create an embryo.
Egg donors must go through a thorough screening process, including a physical and psychological evaluation, to ensure that their eggs are healthy and suitable for donation.
As egg donation is strictly regulated in Australia, safety of both the donors and any potential children is taken very seriously and all measures are taken to promote ethical practices.
Gestational Carriers/ Surrogates
Gestational Carriers or a Surrogate make the dreams and hopes of Intended Parents a reality by carrying the Intended Parents child. In most cases, an Australian Surrogate is a Gestational Carrier, meaning they carry a child that isn’t biologically related to them for the Intended Parents.
Surrogates in Australia need to meet a number of different requirements depending on the state they reside in, and the state that the Intended Parents live in.
Australian Surrogates perform surrogacy altruistically in Australia, and are not compensated financially for surrogacy.
Legal Representation
Lawyers specialising in surrogacy are a crucial member of any surrogacy team in Australia. Not only do surrogacy arrangements have to meet specific legal guidelines, surrogacy lawyers can be an invaluable source of information for Intended Parents and Surrogates alike.
In Australia, both the Intended Parents and Surrogates need independent legal representation to ensure the surrogacy agreement is lawful, and that both parties are protected.
A Surrogacy Psychologist
Much like legal representation being mandated by Australian legislation, a surrogacy psychologist or counsellor is also a mandatory component to any surrogacy arrangement in Australia.
When considering a psychologist for surrogacy in Australia, a large number of Intended Parents and Surrogates typically engage a psychologist later down the track, and to meet the legal requirements of their surrogacy arrangement.
At Happy Minds, we believe that a psychologist specialising in surrogacy should be considered at the beginning stages of any surrogacy journey. Surrogacy is a large, transformative life decision and a psychologist specialising in surrogacy can guide both Intended Parents and Surrogates to make the best informed decisions along the way.
Creating A Team For Surrogacy Success
Each member of your surrogacy team in Australia plays a very important role. Both Intended Parents and Surrogates need to ensure that each member on the team aligns with their values and goals for a successful, fulfilling surrogacy journey.
If you are considering surrogacy in Australia, or are already underway with your surrogacy team, we highly recommend reaching out to a surrogacy psychologist like Happy Minds to ensure your journey is a success and that all members of your team are supported along the way.