How to find a safe, ethical, and reliable surrogacy agency — and how Nest & Co helps you choose the right one.

Finding the right surrogacy agency is one of the most important decisions intended parents will make. The agency impacts your matching timeline, your surrogate’s wellbeing, the legal strength of your journey, and ultimately, your experience of becoming a parent.

But not all agencies operate with the same standards. Some are ethical and transparent; others are poorly regulated, risky, or misleadingly marketed.

At Nest & Co, we do not act as a surrogacy agency.
Instead, we work independently to help intended parents compare international agencies, avoid unsafe programs, and choose a partner that truly protects their family.

 

What Is a Surrogacy Agency?

A surrogacy agency is an organisation that coordinates:

• Surrogate recruitment
  
• Medical screening
  
• Psychological evaluation
  
• Matching with intended parents
  
• Legal support
  
• Pregnancy management
  
• Communication throughout the journey
  
• Birth logistics and planning
  

A good agency becomes the operational backbone of your entire surrogacy journey.

A poor-quality agency creates risk — legal risk, financial risk, ethical risk, or emotional risk.

 

Do You Need a Surrogacy Agency?

In almost all cases, yes.

Surrogacy is a complex medical and legal process, and most intended parents need support managing:

• Screening & matching
  
• Legal agreements
  
• IVF coordination
  
• The surrogate’s care
  
• Travel and birth planning
  
• Cross-border documentation
  
• Communication throughout pregnancy
  

Independent (no-agency) surrogacy can sometimes work domestically, but international independent surrogacy is unsafe, high-risk, and often illegal.

 

Why Nest & Co Is Not a Surrogacy Agency

This is your UNIQUE advantage.

Nest & Co is an independent, client-first advisory service, not a program provider.
That means:

• We do not recruit surrogates.
  
• We do not run medical programs.
  
• We do not sell packages.
  
• We do not tie parents to specific clinics or destinations.
  

Instead, we help intended parents:

• Analyse legal frameworks in each country
  
• Understand which destinations are actually safe
  
• Compare the best international programs
  
• Identify ethical, reputable agencies
  
• Avoid unregulated or high-risk operators
  
• Make decisions based on their needs, not someone’s business model
  

This independence makes Nest & Co unique in the international surrogacy space.

 

How to Choose the Right Surrogacy Agency

Below are the criteria every intended parent should consider.
These are also the criteria Nest & Co uses when recommending programs.

1. Legal Transparency & Parental Rights

Questions to ask a surrogacy agency:

• Do they clearly explain parental rights in your destination?
  
• Can they detail the legal path for your nationality?
  
• Do they work with licensed, independent attorneys?
  
• Can they show documentation or case examples?
  

Legal clarity is non-negotiable — especially for international parents.

2. Medical Standards & Screening Protocols

High-quality agencies work with reputable IVF clinics and enforce strict surrogate screening:

• Fertility tests
  
• Hormone panels
  
• Psychological evaluation
  
• OB/GYN history
  
• Lifestyle check
  
• Background checks
  

Ask the agency for real medical criteria, not just “she’s healthy.”

3. Surrogate Compensation & Ethical Practices

Ethical programs ensure:

• Fair compensation
  
• Transparent contracts
  
• No exploitation
  
• Clear expense structures
  
• Surrogate support (physical + emotional)
  
• No pressure on the surrogate
  

Nest & Co only recommends agencies with verifiable ethical standards.

4. Financial Transparency

A trustworthy agency provides:

• A complete cost breakdown
  
• No hidden fees
  
• No last-minute charges
  
• Transparent escrow management
  
• Clear refund policies
  

If an agency cannot give you exact numbers → red flag.

5. Matching Timeline & Surrogate Availability

Agencies vary significantly in:

• How fast they match
  
• How many surrogates they recruit
  
• Screening standards
  
• Intended parent waitlists
  

Matching times can range from 1 month to 12+ months depending on the program.

We help parents choose realistic expectations.

6. Communication & Support Systems

You should expect:

• A dedicated case manager
  
• Pregnancy updates
  
• Emotional support
  
• Multilingual staff
  
• 24/7 emergency contact
  
• Transparent reporting
  

Communication is the #1 factor influencing emotional experience.

7. Reputation & Track Record

Key things to verify:

• Years of experience
  
• Number of completed journeys
  
• Reviews from LGBTQ+ families
  
• Legal cases (if any)
  
• Consistency in surrogate experience
  
• Clinic partnerships
  
• Success rates (if documented)
  

Many agencies promote themselves aggressively without real history — we filter these out.

 

Which Surrogacy Agencies Does Nest & Co Recommend?

We do not receive commissions from agencies and do not partner commercially with any program.

Instead, we evaluate agencies based on:

• Ethics
  
• Legal safety
  
• Psychological support
  
• Medical quality
  
• Transparency
  
• Intended parent feedback
  
• Surrogate satisfaction
  
• Regulatory compliance
  

We only recommend programs that consistently demonstrate safe, ethical, and legally secure outcomes — especially for international families.

 

Surrogacy Agencies by Destination

A general snapshot (without naming specific agencies):

🇺🇸 United States

• Highly regulated
  
• Best legal protection
  
• Most established agencies
  
• Ideal for LGBTQ+ and international parents
  

🇨🇦 Canada

• Altruistic model
  
• Strong legal framework
  
• High-quality medical care
  
• Longer matching times
  

🇨🇴 Colombia

• Regulated & LGBTQ+-inclusive
  
• More affordable
  
• Popular for European intended parents
  

🇲🇽 Mexico (Specific States Only)

• Mixed landscape; needs expert guidance
  
• Safe only in regulated regions
  
• Affordable alternative to North America
  

🇬🇷 Greece

• Strong regulations
  
• For heterosexual couples and certain legal structures

🇬🇪 Georgia

• Long-standing surrogacy laws
• Strong medical standards and regulated framewor
• Only available to married or de facto heterosexual couple
• Affordable and well-established agencies
• Not suitable for LGBTQ+ families or unmarried intended parent
  

Nest & Co helps you decide which country + agency combination fits your goals best.

 

Common Mistakes Intended Parents Make When Choosing an Agency

❌ Choosing based on price alone

Cheaper programs often hide legal or ethical risks.

❌ Not understanding the country’s legal structure

Laws vary dramatically — the wrong country can be catastrophic.

❌ Believing marketing without evidence

Agencies love to advertise success; fewer show proof.

❌ Working with unregulated or untested programs

Especially dangerous in countries with grey areas.

❌ Assuming all agencies are the same

They are not. Some operate ethically; others do not.

❌ Making decisions without understanding the outcome and feeling pressured to sign

Nest & Co prevents these mistakes before they happen.

 

How Nest & Co Helps You Choose Safely

✔ We evaluate your eligibility

Based on nationality, marital status, and family structure.

✔ We review your medical and fertility needs

Whether you require egg donation, sperm donation, or embryo creation.

✔ We compare countries side-by-side

Legality, cost, timelines, exit processes.

✔ We analyse agencies using 40+ safety indicators

Legal → medical → ethical → financial.

✔ We protect you from misinformation

We explain what’s real and what’s marketing.

✔ We support you emotionally

Surrogacy is a journey — not a transaction.