Infertility Portal (2025)

05/11/2025

Only 2 days to go!

We hope to see you in Costa Mesa at the SEEDS conference!

02/11/2025

Only 4 days to go!

Come and join us at the SEEDS Conference on the 6th and 7th November!

We would love to see you, and show you our ground breaking, affordable software platform - designed exclusively for Surrogacy Agencies!

25/10/2025

In less than 2 weeks we are proud to attend our first ever SEEDS conference as a main sponsor. We hope you can come along and say hi at our stand and get to see our latest version of our innovative and exciting STEPS software package - which is taking the industry by storm.

Not only is it the first CRM system to be exclusively designed around the clients needs and desires, it is unbelievably affordable, easy to use, and is owned outright by you!

You have to see it to believe it, and we are more than proud to demonstrate it to you at the conference in Costa Mesa between November 6th and 7th.

If you would like to book a free, no obligation demo, just click on the link below:

https://infertilityportal.zohobookings.com/ #/karen

19/10/2025

In the latest in our series of articles highlighting why Surrogacy is needed, we follow the story of Lia Di Fio's path to a family,
courtesy of Refinery29.com...

“I consider myself lucky,” said Lia De Feo, whose son was stillborn after her uterus ruptured. “When my uterus ruptured, I was a mere eight minutes away from a hospital where a doctor saved my life. I could have died on the hour-long journey to my original choice.”

“In the hospital, I was told I couldn’t get pregnant anymore; if I did, my uterus might rupture again,” she said. “Even though I ultimately chose to become a parent through surrogacy, I got to experience the physical joys of pregnancy… I consider myself blessed and fortunate to have felt them for 31 amazing weeks.”

“After my uterus ruptured, surrogacy felt like my only choice,” De Feo said. “It’s a complicated, emotional, and expensive undertaking.” As a New Yorker, she added, “It’s an overwhelming experience made harder by having to secure services out-of-state.”

During her first surrogacy journey, “Our daughter was born via emergency c-section at 29 weeks and passed away two hours after she arrived due to an incurable heart condition.”

“After that loss, I didn’t think I could do it again,” she said. “But I’m fortunate to be blessed with a resilient spirit, a very encouraging husband, and an IVF and surrogacy benefit at my then-workplace.”

“After 39 weeks and 6 days, Carolina Maria De Feo arrived,” she said. “My husband and I turned to each other and said: ‘I’m so glad we didn’t give up!’ ”

“I’m advocating for legalising surrogacy in New York State,” De Feo said. “That’s a cause I can throw my full support behind.”

13/10/2025

As Part of our series to show the positive contribution our industry makes to the world, we are publishing some good news articles. to show dreams can come true:-)

A Miracle Made Possible - by Skye Ellison ✨

I’ll never forget the day the fertility clinic called - our surrogate’s pregnancy test was positive. After a lifetime of hearing “you won’t be able to have children” because of my pulmonary hypertension, it felt like the impossible had just come true. 💖

Becoming a mom with PH isn’t simple or safe. But through years of hope, research, advocacy, and self-belief, my husband and I found our path through IVF and surrogacy. It wasn’t easy - countless injections, tough decisions, and emotional highs and lows, but it was worth every single moment.

Today, when I hold my daughter, I understand what a miracle truly means. 🌈

She’s living proof that courage, persistence, and self-advocacy can create life in the face of impossible odds.

To anyone navigating PH, infertility, or surrogacy - keep believing, keep asking questions, and never stop advocating for yourself. You know your body and your heart better than anyone. 💪💞

👶💫 Our miracle girl made every struggle worth it.

11/10/2025

Special thanks to Michael Johnson-Ellis, Co-founder of TwoDads UK & My Surrogacy Journey, for bringing this study to my attention.

A recent JAMA Network Open study from Ontario, Canada, reported higher rates of mental health diagnoses among gestational surrogates (6.9%) compared to women with unassisted conceptions (5.2%).

However, surrogates represented only 0.1% of the study population, with the remaining 99.9% being non-surrogates. Such an extreme imbalance makes the comparison fragile — just 10 additional cases in the surrogate group could meaningfully change the results, potentially erasing the reported difference.

The study’s stated objective was “to study the association between gestational carriage and new-onset mental illness.” If that were truly the aim, why limit the analysis to Ontario, where surrogates are such a small fraction of births? Expanding the dataset to include surrogates from other provinces, or even other countries, could have increased the sample size and improved the reliability of the findings.

It also appears the study did not examine how “new-onset mental illness” was coded. In surrogacy, attending one or two routine mental health evaluations or consultations is common and often billed under mental health codes. Under the study’s criteria, these visits could count as mental health cases even when no disorder was diagnosed, potentially inflating the surrogate group’s numbers without reflecting actual illness.

Other important factors the study did not address include:
Gestational carriers typically have more medical appointments and check-ins than other pregnant women, creating more opportunities for diagnoses to be recorded.
Surrogates may face complex legal obligations, emotionally sensitive relationships with intended parents, and, in altruistic systems, the absence of compensation despite the significant commitment. These stressors are unrelated to the medical course of the pregnancy but may still affect mental health.
Most surrogates undergo mental health evaluations before being approved and may have ongoing access to counseling. This exposure increases the likelihood that even mild symptoms will be recognized, reported, and documented.
If surrogates are older than the general pregnant population, their risk for conditions such as gestational diabetes and hypertension increases, both of which are associated with greater psychological strain.

Without addressing these methodological gaps, the findings risk overstating the link between surrogacy and mental health diagnoses and may reflect differences in monitoring, coding, and demographic profiles rather than true differences in mental health outcomes.

06/10/2025

Countries should move towards banning all forms of surrogacy, a new UN report has said.

The UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem al Salem, called for a ban on the grounds of the “exploitation and violence against women and girls” that characterises surrogacy arrangements, as well as health risks to the mother and baby.

Al Salem will present the report to the UN General Assembly in October 2025. It will call for the 193 UN member states to “take steps towards eradicating surrogacy in all its forms.”

Pending its abolition, states should adopt a legal and policy framework for surrogacy that is modelled on the Nordic model for prostitution and includes penalties for commissioning parents and surrogacy agencies alongside decriminalisation and exit support strategies for surrogate mothers.

The report cites higher rates of caesarean section, gestational diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, and placenta previa in surrogate births, and lower birth weights and mean gestational ages of babies at delivery.

It is based on 120 submissions from commissioning parents, surrogacy agencies, medical experts, and surrogate mothers.

04/10/2025

In a further step towards restricting access to surrogacy for certain groups, the Greek Justice Minister confirmed that it is their intention to bar single men and same s*x male couples to legally participate in surrogacy.

The article from Associated Press states:

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Men in Greece will be barred from having children via surrogacy if they are single or in a same-s*x relationship, the justice minister said, asserting that it’s intended to eliminate legal ambiguity over the concept of inability to carry a pregnancy.

Giorgos Floridis said the proposed changes will be submitted to parliament soon as part of broader civil code reform.

“We are now clarifying unequivocally that the concept of inability to carry a pregnancy does not refer to an inability arising from one’s gender,” Floridis told reporters. “In other words, a woman may be unable to carry a pregnancy whether she is in a male-female couple, a female same-s*x couple or on her own.”

Greece legalized same-s*x marriage last year — the first Orthodox Christian-majority country to do so. The marriage equality law was opposed by Greece’s powerful Orthodox Church and conservative groups. Parliament approved civil partnerships for gay couples in 2015.

In contrast to growing consensus in support of same-s*x marriage, Europe’s legal landscape for surrogacy varies widely. Many countries prohibit all forms of the practice or impose restrictions.

03/10/2025

🌸 **Discover the Future of Surrogacy & Egg Donor Agency Management** 🌸
**SEEDS Conference | Costa Mesa, CA | Nov 6–7**

✨ Ready to transform the way your agency works? ✨

Join us at the **SEEDS Conference** and be among the first to experience our brand-new, next-generation software.
- crafted from 35 years of industry know-how and redesigned to make your work smoother, faster, and more affordable than ever.

Why visit us?

🌟 **Revolutionary design** – modern, intuitive, and built for agencies like yours

🌟 **Proven expertise** – honed from decades of hands-on industry experience

🌟 **Unbeatable value** – powerful technology at a fraction of the cost

Let’s shape the future together!

Stop by our exhibit, meet our team, and see why more agencies are joining our growing family every day.

📍 **SEEDS 2025 | Costa Mesa, CA, Nov 6–7**

💡 *Your agency deserves 21st-century technology - come see it in action!*

02/10/2025

At Infertility Portal we pride ourselves in the provision of a personal touch in everything we do. We strive to go that extra mile, not to just fulfil our clients needs - but to exceed them whenever we can.

For us, it is a labor of love and personal. Our 'family' of customers grows every day, and with that is a growing sense of satisfaction that we are making a difference in the world of Third Party Reproduction.

Our clients range from the small to the large, and we cater for just about every budget.

The beauty of our system is that you will easily recover its costs in full from as little as 6 months from implementation.

The efficiencies and budget savings that we help create will mean that you can not only keep control of your running costs like never before, but you will actually make savings on your current expenditures. You can literally do more for less.

We are also happy to put our money where our mouths are. We offer a free, no obligation system demo at a time of your choosing. It is literally that simple.

Depending on the size of your business, we can typically have you up and running with our easy to use and innovative software within 3-6 months of commissioning. We can even help you switch from any competitor.

So if you would like to know more, just click on the link below. There is no hard sell, as we already know that there is nothing else like it on the market and the system can speak for itself.

It could be the best 30 minute investment you could ever make.

We hope to hear from you soon.

https://infertilityportal.zohobookings.com/ #/karen-1h

30/09/2025

In the USA, the IRS does not consider payments for surrogacy - including agency fees, medical costs for the surrogate, legal fees, and compensation to the surrogate - as qualified medical expenses under §213 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Therefore:

You cannot deduct surrogacy-related costs as itemized medical expenses on your federal tax return.

This includes IVF treatments performed on the surrogate, even if your own eggs or s***m are used.

The IRS defines qualified medical expenses as those incurred for you, your spouse, or your dependent. Because the surrogate is not legally your dependent, the related costs fall outside of this category.

What Can Be Deductible?

You may be able to deduct certain fertility-related expenses incurred on yourself or your spouse, such as:

IVF procedures
Egg or s***m retrieval
Hormonal treatments
Storage of reproductive material (in some cases)

These must exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) to be eligible for itemization.

State Tax Considerations

Some states may offer different rules or credits, so it’s wise to consult a state-specific tax advisor.

Pending Legal Challenges

There have been legal efforts to challenge the IRS's interpretation, and some taxpayers have tried to claim deductions for surrogacy by arguing the costs are directly tied to treating infertility. However, these attempts have generally not been successful, and the IRS has maintained its position.

Bottom Line

Unless current tax law changes, surrogacy costs are not deductible at the federal level. To avoid audit risk, it's best to consult a CPA or tax attorney familiar with reproductive law and IRS regulations before claiming any related expenses.

28/09/2025

Authorities in Arcadia, California, recently uncovered a deeply troubling situation. A raid on the home of Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan led to the discovery of 21 children, many under the age of three. The couple had operated surrogacy businesses under the names Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC and Future Spring Surrogacy, both now dissolved and registered to the same Arcadia address.

Investigators say surrogates were approached online with a story meant to inspire compassion: they were told they would be helping a couple who already had 1 child but, after 10 unsuccessful IVF transfers, needed the help of a surrogate. The agency promised to match or beat any compensation offers from other agencies.

One of these surrogates, Alexa Fasold, is due to give birth in September. She was told she would meet her intended parents at the embryo transfer, but they never came. She was told they were facing health challenges. Instead, 2 agency representatives arrived, bringing her gifts.

Although the agency has since shut down, Alexa recently received an email from the former owners asking for the name of the hospital where she plans to deliver. Her attorney has been unable to reach anyone connected to the agency. Now, Alexa faces the emotional strain of not knowing what will happen to the baby she’s carrying, while fearing that even offering to care for the child could lead to legal repercussions.

Sadly, this is not the first time the surrogacy industry has been shaken by misconduct. In 2011, attorney Theresa Erickson pleaded guilty in federal court for running a baby-selling scheme. She arranged for women to travel to Ukraine to be implanted with embryos without legal agreements in place. Once the pregnancies were established, Erickson marketed the babies to new intended parents, fabricating stories such as that the “original” parents had backed out. She charged $100k–$150k for each case. Erickson filed false paperwork with the courts to make these arrangements appear legitimate. The case led to heightened awareness & in some jurisdictions, the added safeguard of IVF doctors providing affidavits confirming that they performed the embryo transfer & specifying the date, along with tighter court scrutiny of surrogacy documents.

While no amount of regulation can completely prevent rare, extreme situations like these we can take steps to make them less likely:

Require all agencies to collect valid identification (driver’s license/passport) from both surrogates & intended parents, with copies provided to each party’s attorney.

Mandate that all surrogates meet their intended parents - either in person or virtually - before legal clearance is granted.

Include in the legal process a full disclosure of any current or planned additional surrogacy journeys, both now & within the next year.

Require IVF clinics to use a standardized disclosure form in which intended parents must declare whether they are currently involved in 1, 2, or more concurrent surrogacy arrangements.

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