Where Are All The Surrogates?

The surrogacy market is exploding and more and more couples and individuals are using a surrogate to fulfil their dream of a family. 

This strong upward trend is driven by three powerful forces. First, the growing number of couples struggling with infertility (one in six in the world); second, celebrities using a surrogate to bring their child into the world, turning surrogacy into a popular trend; and third, the rising numbers of gay parents. 

But although the demand for surrogates is soaring, the supply has actually dropped since the COVID-19 outbreak. After months of lockdowns and quarantine, many women who qualified as surrogates have pushed the pause button, taking some time to rethink their next step, while others refuse to get vaccinated or have increased their BMI during the pandemic and therefore do not currently qualify as surrogates. 

Naturally, the strong demand and low supply also affects the cost of surrogacy, which spiked by double-digit percentages over the past few months. Still, probably the most significant effect of the surrogate shortage is on the time it takes to find available surrogates, and many intended parents must wait for months until they can take their first step in this long, emotional journey. 

In an attempt to provide an effective solution and help streamline the surrogacy process, a new tech startup, which only recently closed its seed funding round raising $1 million, offers a new way to find surrogates and egg donors.

Expecting is a free online network of American surrogates and international egg donors, created to help potential parents find their ideal match. The startup connects intended parents from around the world with US fertility clinics and agencies, allowing them to set advanced filters and specific preferences while they search for surrogates and egg donors. This saves hopeful parents a lot of time and helps them start their journey much faster than traditional methods. 

Expecting also provides recruitment services that allow potential surrogates and egg donors to apply to numerous agencies online, instead of doing so through in-person meetings.  

The startup’s database is rapidly growing, despite the surrogate shortage, and already has thousands of surrogates and egg donors in its online network. “Expecting was conceived by a group of people who witnessed first hand how arduous and confusing the journey to parenthood can be when you need to use fertility and surrogacy services. We wanted to streamline the process, digitize it and make it much easier to start the journey,” said co-founder and CEO of Expecting, Nadav Raanan. “We leveraged our collective experience in machine learning, data and digital marketing to create a platform that will serve as the one single destination for both intended parents and providers. No more researching and navigating numerous agencies, no more waiting in line for months for available surrogates - now all the options are online and easily accessible.”