On March 5th and March 6th, WSS traveled to London and Dublin for two conferences aimed at providing informative resources for prospective intended parents interested in building their families through surrogacy. Hosted by Families Through Surrogacy (FTS), both conferences had a great turnout consisting of various exhibitors, lawyers, fertility clinics, and surrogacy agencies. Our Director of Case Management, Jen McArthur, and our Associate Case Manager, Erin Colonnese, were the WSS agency representatives at both conferences. Not only were they able to reconnect with colleagues who have attended conferences with them in the past, but also, they met with various other providers that we hope to potentially work with in the near future. For example, WSS met with an attorney from the United Kingdom who assists intended parents in getting their baby(ies) back into the UK via a parental order. Although WSS has experience with the parental order process in the UK, it is extremely beneficial to provide a resource for our intended parents in their home country.

Fortunately, WSS also had the opportunity to meet with not only current intended parents, "K" and "W" from London, but also former WSS clients, "F" and "J" and their boy/girl twins. It is not every day that WSS is able to meet with our international clients face-to-face, and therefore it is great to finally put a face behind all of the emails. With this in mind, WSS strives to create and maintain lasting relationships between our core team and all of the intended parents we work with.

The same lasting relationships are formed between the parents and their surrogate mother. When Jen and Erin spoke with "F" and "J", they mentioned how they are still very close with their surrogate, "S", even years after the birth. It is very rewarding to see how our former clients, who were once attending conferences themselves, have transformed into amazing parents whose families are now complete.

It is truly amazing to witness the progression of the entire surrogacy process. "F" and "J" started out just like "K" and "W", eager to start their journey with a surrogate mother. Jen and Erin sat down with "K" and "W", and they expressed their excitement to start a family. Although they have not yet been matched with a surrogate mother, they are very busy preparing for their new life ahead. They have begun creating their embryos along with remodeling their house in preparation for a new baby in the near future. Although they are eager to get started, WSS reminds all of our intended parents that we will find the perfect woman to help them grow their family, and that the wait will all be worth it.