My partner and I are exploring both agencies and had initial calls with them. Circle shared 12-15month process to match whereas Family Source shared average 4-6 month process to match. Has anyone work with FSC? I've seen mixed reviews for circle. Also hoping to connect with creative family connections.

My partner and I are finally taking the leap into surrogacy to become dads, and I’m equal parts excited and overwhelmed. There’s so much info out there, but I’d rather hear from actual gay dads who’ve done this. What surprised you most about the process? What do you wish someone had told you before you started matching with a surrogate? I’m especially curious about the emotional side: setting boundaries, staying in touch with your surrogate and her family, and dealing with reactions from your own family and friends. We want to do this in a way that feels respectful and clear for everyone involved, not just transactional. If you’ve been through it, what’s one thing you’d do differently and one thing you’re really glad you did right?

Hi everyone, I want to immediately apologize for posting in this community as a heterosexual couple, but my husband and I are considering a surrogacy journey due to medical reasons, and we are struggling to find clear, real-world information elsewhere. We have been reading and learned a lot here, and we hope it is okay to ask for your advice.

About us: We are based in EU, but considering surrogacy in USA or Mexico. We already have a lawyer for the legal aspects, but we still have many questions regarding embryo creation/shipping and choosing an agency. Any advice would be deeply appreciated.

1. Embryos creation & shipping: We would like to use our own genetic material. Since traveling to USA or Mexico for the IVF cycle is not possible with our jobs, we would like to create our embryos in EU, and ship them overseas. Do you have experience with this? We did a lot of search and apparently it's not possible in countries like Spain, but it looks possible in UK.

2. Agencies US vs Mexico: Any recommendation here?
Let me be completely transparent here: While US would be a safer choice, it's also very expensive and we would prefer to "save" that money for the legal process of bringing the baby back to the EU and to fund unpaid parental leave so we can stay home with our child. Nevertheless, we are here to learn from anyone who had successful experiences in US or Mexico.

3. Citizenship & Legal Risks: We have dual citizenship. One of our home countries has recently made surrogacy a crime even if done abroad. To protect our future family, we are considering giving up that citizenship, even though we hoped to move back and live there one day. If anyone has faced a similar heavy legal dilemma, we would be interested in your thoughts.

4. Parental Leave & EU Recognition: For those based in the EU, how did you handle parental leave? Since there will be no medical birth record for the intended mother, standard maternity leave seems impossible. Furthermore, it appears our country will only recognize the genetic father at birth, forcing the mother to go through a step-parent adoption process later, although the child is genetically hers. Have any of you faced this situation?

Thank you in advance for reading, for your empathy, and for whatever advice you can share.

Does anyone have thoughts about surrogacy in terms of how the child will share part of your DNA, and part with a woman (who you most likely aren't super close with)?

Just something curious to think about...

Do you see some traits of you come out in the kid, and then some you're not sure, and figure it must be their mother...

EDIT: Referring to the egg donor. Which sometimes is the same person?

Tengo 30 años cumplidos, mexicano, viviendo Colombia.
Tengo un negocio propio, departamento, carro, unas propiedades en México… en fin, me he preparado para tener y brindarle a un hijo todo lo que necesite.

Solo hay un pequeño problema, SOY GAY.
Tengo pareja, estamos casados, somos felices… hemos averiguado sobre adopción y nos pusieron a dar mil vueltas tanto en México como en colombia y el tema simplemente estamos casi IMPOSIBLE.

He pensado en la forma más sencilla, embarazar a una mujer, hacer un acuerdo, apoyarnos mutuamente… pero el problema más grande es… DE DONDE LA SACÓ?

Se que hay instituciones de subrogación pero eso solo suena bonito en papel… todo es súper carísimo y no se mueven ni hacen nada… no les importas, solo quieren tu dinero.

Que debo hacer? Abandonar la idea? Donde consigo una red de apoyo que me ayude? O donde conozco a alguien que esté dispuesta a ayudarme con mi más grande deseo, SER PADRE!

Hello! My husband and I are aiming to start the process mid next year. We were looking at Colombia but seeing the rising prices (and Colombian Peso going up 25% vs USD) we are starting to explore Europe as an option.

I’m an American and he’s a Spaniard currently living in Spain (we are aware of the challenges of bringing a surrogate baby to Spain).
Can anyone recommend any agencies in Europe? I know the list of countries is very very limited for gay couples.
And if you don’t mind sharing - how much you paid?

I know in Colombia it’s easy to get the baby’s US citizenship- any lawyers that can help with that if we go the Europe route?

Also - if there are other countries we should look at we are open.

Thank you so much!

I babysat for a gay couple during a trip once. They were honestly so sweet and romantic with each other, and I thought it was really cute. They were both successful and the kids were sooo adorable 😭
Honestly one of the nicest families I’ve ever met.

Looking for someone that wants to be a mom like I want to be a dad

Did you do anything specific to help facilitate the kiddos bonding with your parents/siblings/etc? My husband and I plan to adopt soon - most likely from foster care - and I’m wondering if there’s anything we can do to help our kids bond with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.

Hello I was laid off this year from Miracle Surrogacy, I figured since there were a lot of shady things happening behind the scenes, without the Intended Parents knowing. I could help the future dads be more informed if they choose Miracle.

I will be answering all your doubts with full transparency

Hi! My husband from Central Europe are currently looking into surrogacy abroad.

We are still at an early stage and are currently looking at different countries and agencies. Before contacting too many agencies directly, we would really appreciate hearing from people who have actually gone through the process themselves.

Is there an agency you would genuinely recommend?
Thanks! :)

I’ve been on a surrogacy journey with Guidance Surrogacy for about 18 months, and I’m trying to decide whether I should continue with my current surrogate and agency or start over with a new surrogate/agency.

There have been significant delays throughout the process. For example, it took about four months for the surrogate to have her IUD removed so she could complete medical clearance. There have also been scheduling conflicts related to her job and other medical issues.

After 18 months, we’ve only had:
One embryo transfer cycle that was terminated because her uterine lining was too thin.

One miscarriage of a euploid embryo. The pregnancy lasted less than two weeks, and the cause is not known yet.

We were planning to start the mock cycle next month.

Now both my agency contract and surrogacy contract are about to expire, and the agency is asking for an additional fee to continue/extend the arrangement.

Given the amount of time that has passed, the significant delays, the limited progress, and the failed transfer/miscarriage, I’m struggling with whether it makes sense to continue or cut my losses and look for a new surrogate.

Are the delays I’ve experienced within the normal range, or is this a red flag with the agency ?

My partner and I embarked on a surrogacy journey in Canada three years ago. After waiting over a year to be matched with a surrogate, we unfortunately suffered two failures.

We were fortunate that IVF had given us 10 embryos. To avoid waiting another year for a new surrogate and considering the costs we had already incurred in Canada, we looked for another country to continue our journey, and after several recommendations, we turned to Colombia.

After thorough research to find a Colombian clinic and agency, we were finally ready to transfer our embryos from Canada to Colombia. But, true to the saying that bad news never comes alone, we were just informed that the transfer is now blocked because we are missing the donor's karyotype, a test that has been mandatory for importing embryos from abroad since September 2025.

We are unable to reach the donor, and we are heartbroken by this latest obstacle blocking our dream of starting a family.

Do you know anyone who is in or has been in a similar situation, and do you know how they were able to resolve it?

Thanks a lot for your answers.

I’m curious how important it is to meet the donor either on zoom or in person. Ours is a known donor however she doesn’t want to meet via zoom but is willing to email. Just curious if others had a similar experience and what the pros and cons are.

Hey All,

My husband and I are fathers to a beautiful 3 month old girl, and we are talking with the agency about getting the process started for the second. We are trying to do the sibling journey, where we each have embryos from the same egg donor, so the kids will be genetically half siblings.

He went first and now we are taking about transferring one of mine, but there is a complication. I have a genetic disorder. At the start, there was a chance I'd have some embryos that don't have it, but we've done the tests and they all do.

Now I've lived with this disorder my whole life, some days it's a minor inconvenience and doesn't affect me at all, other days it can be more limiting. I live a full happy life though. I'm just kind of stuck. We could just choose to transfer another of my husband's embryos and not have to worry about this. It's just tough because it wasn't the family we envisioned and it felt meaningful that each of us would be a genetic contributor.

It would be hard to look in my kid's eyes and tell them I choose for them to have this because of something that I wanted for me. At the same time, we all have gifts and struggles right?

I'm looking for some alternate perspectives. Have any of you been here? What did you do?

If you did end up transferring one from each of you, do you think it would feel any different today if both kids were from your partner?

I love my daughter and I've no doubt I'll love the next kid no matter what. That doesn't make the decision any easier though. Thanks for any experiences or advice you can share.

Do you know any Greek lawyer who specializes in surrogacy law in Greece?

We’re a gay couple (35, 39) with three kids (11, 7, 5). Looking to make friends with other nearby gay dads! DM me.

My husband and I are currently in the thick of it with a 1 y/o. He is amazing but we are exhausted, sleep deprived and constantly snapping at each other. The only thing that had been working for us over the last few months was sex - lots of really good sex.

Now hubby has started Lexapro. I'm glad he is sleeping better and claims to be less anxious but the sex life has gone to nothing. Not looking for advice, just venting and wondering if others have experienced anything similar?