Looking Back on the Screening Process to Become a GC
The road to becoming a surrogate does not just happen over night. There are so many steps that take place before giving the gift of life to a family. Looking back, the first thing I did was google surrogacy and tons of crazy links came up with huge money amounts and links to apply. Overwhelming was the best word to describe it. With two small children, that I was a lifeline and taxi for, I needed something local and that was going to be easy to get to. This is where I saw Colorado Surrogacy! I saw the name had Colorado in it, so of course, it had to be based in Colorado, right? I clicked their link and checked their website to confirm. It was so comforting to me to see that the people who would be helping me become a surrogate were right in Colorado. Of course, a surrogacy agency doesn’t have to be local to you, but it was an important piece for me personally.
I then filled out an intake form that was very easy to find on their website. Within a day I got a phone call from one of their intake coordinators. She called and we talked for awhile about my pregnancies and deliveries with my two children and ask a few more simple questions. She answered all my questions patiently and explained the next steps. The next step was a long application that allowed her to find out about me; it included things like where I had my children, information on my medical history, my social history and even some fun questions about me. After that, she created some medical releases for me to sign so she could get my medical records from my OBs and the hospitals I had my children at. Waiting on these records took a little bit of time but after about 25-30 days she had my medical records to submit to a physician to review.
After getting approved by a physician to become a surrogate, my husband and I went and saw a psychiatrist to get a psych screening. My husband and I just chatted with the psychiatrist about our life and the process of surrogacy. We discussed if things were to go wrong how we would deal with it. It was very simple and very easy process; not scary at all like some people think it might be!
Next, my husband and I met with the intake coordinator in person for an interview. She came to my house to allow my children to be there and ask any questions they had. She explained the next steps of moving forward with matching with intended parents, legal and the non-scary medications (ok, at the time they seemed scary!) that I would have to be doing. Colorado Surrogacy made the screening process very easy for my family and me. Any time I had a question, I was able to call my intake coordinator and she would answer. Although the screening process might seem long in the moment, it is a small step in a journey that is going to change someone’s life’s forever.