Hi! I’m Sarah Jefford, an IVF Mum, egg donor, surrogate and family and surrogacy lawyer.
Welcome to the Surrogacy and Donor Conception Blog, with posts about surrogacy, donor conception, laws, news items, and my personal experiences as a donor and surrogate. You can scroll through the posts, search by category or keyword below.
Surrogacy in Australia – an Overview
Surrogacy within Australia is regulated in each State, which means there are no uniform laws that cover surrogacy across the country. Surrogacy laws in all States follow the same basic principles: The Intended Parents must not be able [...]
Written Surrogacy Agreements
Surrogacy arrangements can be written into formal Agreements between the surrogate and her partner, and the intended parents. Some states require surrogacy arrangements to have a written agreement, whilst other States do not require it but the parties [...]
Altruistic Surrogacy: How Much Does it Cost?
Intended parents are always keen to know how much surrogacy will cost them. There are so many variables depending on individual circumstances, so it can be hard to give an exact answer to that question. Intended Parents should [...]
Surrogacy Laws in Australia
Surrogacy Laws Australia Are you exploring your options for growing your family through surrogacy? Below is an overview of Australian surrogacy laws as they stand today. Surrogacy in Australia is regulated in each State, which means there is [...]
Traditional Surrogacy
Traditional surrogacy is where a surrogate uses her own eggs to conceive, with sperm from an Intended Father or from a donor. It is different from gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate becomes pregnant with an embryo created with [...]
Parenting Orders and Parentage Orders
Parentage Orders are made to transfer parentage from a surrogate and her partner, to the intended parents. These are made in State Courts. These Orders provide for the Birth Certificate to be changed, removing the surrogate and her [...]
Applying for a Parentage Order
After a baby is born through an Australian surrogacy arrangement, a Parentage Order is required to transfer parentage from the surrogate and her partner to the intended parents. When the baby is born, the surrogate and her partner [...]
Overseas Surrogacy
Do you need an Australian lawyer to assist you with your overseas surrogacy journey? The short answer is, mostly not. You can engage a lawyer in your destination country, who will guide you through the Surrogacy and Donor [...]
Gift Giving in Altruistic Surrogacy Arrangements
One of the first questions asked by surrogates and intended parents, is whether the intended parents can give gifts to their surrogate, or her family members, without compromising the surrogacy agreement or the Parentage Order application. And what [...]
Do I need a Surrogacy Broker?
Do you need a surrogacy broker or consultant? Surrogacy is bit like Project Management. In fact, by the time you’re home with your baby, you’ll feel like you deserve a PhD in international relations and event management. You did [...]
Egg Donation: Seeing Yourself In Someone Else’s Child
My partner and I are parents-through-IVF; survivors of infertility who inevitably became overbearing parents to our precious offspring. Archie was born after 7 embryo transfers, and he was our lucky last. Shortly after Archie’s second birthday, we conceived [...]
The Sisterhood
Surrogates are like sisters. Surrogacy is a unique and special journey, not just for the intended parents, but for the women privileged enough to carry a baby for someone else. It's an unusual thing to do, and most [...]
Why Surrogacy Agreements are not like Contracts, and How to Write Your Own
A surrogacy agreement is not the same as a commercial contract. The elements of a basic contract include (1) an offer, (2) acceptance, (3) consideration (usually money) and (4) an intention to create a legal relationship. For example, you offer [...]
8 Tips to a Positive Surrogacy Journey
Altruistic surrogacy is one of the most complex and amazing journeys you'll ever take, regardless of whether you're the surrogate team or the intended parent team. Even when things go right, they can still be difficult, and every [...]
How Do I Find a Surrogate in Australia?
How do I find a surrogate in Australia? So you've decided to explore surrogacy as an option to grow your family. You've done some google searches and are finding the information-overload a bit overwhelming. Rest assured, you're not [...]
One Year On
Surro-baby, Darcey, turned one last weekend. Her dads threw her a party, of course, and like all first birthdays, it was more of an anniversary for the parents than it was a party for the baby. An anniversary [...]
Pursuing Surrogacy as a Gay Dad
Gay dads are growing in numbers around Australia as they pursue surrogacy to grow their families. The media is buzzing with news that Ian Thorpe and his partner Ryan Channing, are planning to have a baby via surrogacy. [...]
Kickin’ back with the Kickbacks
Intended Parents may be forgiven for thinking that everyone they talk to about surrogacy has their best interests at heart. If someone seems kind, knowledgeable and generous, surely they're only wanting to help you have a baby, right? [...]
The Importance of Surrogacy Birth Photography
Birth photography is an art form. You only need to search #birthphoto on Instagram and find out how popular, and amazing it can be. I would have liked to have a birth photographer for my first two births, [...]
Joe Donor and the Consequences of Online Conception
Sperm donation options in Australia vary from friends and family, to online connections or clinic-recruited donors. If you watched 60 Minutes recently you'd know all about Joe Donor - the American man who claims to have donated sperm to [...]
Will the Surrogate Keep the Baby?
One of the first questions asked by intended parents considering surrogacy in Australia is "What if she wants to keep the baby?" And one of the first questions asked by a surrogate and her partner is "What if [...]