The Power of Defining Ethical Assisted Reproduction Practices in Egg Donation and Surrogacy Agencies

Wendie Wilson-Miller is CEO of All Families Surrogacy.

By Wendie Wilson-Miller

For many, experiencing infertility is a difficult journey, both financially and emotionally.  We see the media call our industry a “billion dollar baby” market, among other unflattering (and inaccurate) descriptions.In the US alone, we went from fewer than 10-20 legitimate egg donation and surrogacy agencies just a decade ago up to what we now think is close to 1000 - with very little industry regulation. It seemed every time a new article came out there was more negativity surrounding our field and its perceived “wild-west” nature. From my perspective, however, what I found was a steady stream of hopeful parents achieving the dream of growing their family.

As with many people in sensitive careers who help vulnerable people, it can feel daunting to motivate change. I’ve always been inspired by the strong, amazing women who have said over and over that in order to see change happen, you have to be willing to take action. The formation of our national ethics organization, SEEDS (The Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy), was born from my desire to start talking to others about what needs to change in our industry, in order to begin implementing actionable ethical standards that support those changes.

This small, non-profit organization grew from idea to reality by creating the first published ethical standards for egg donation and surrogacy agencies in the United States. Since that small start, it has led to sold-out conferences and monthly “Brown Bag” meetings covering the most current issues and topics in our field with an ever-growing, voting membership.  

Not all questions in this industry have clear, black-and-white answers. However, the collective motivation from so many agencies to constantly improve and do the right thing is absolutely inspiring.

Wendie Wilson-Miller is CEO of All Families Surrogacy. https://x.com/AFSurrogacy ; https://www.facebook.com/allfamiliessurrogacyportland ; https://www.instagram.com/allfamiliessurrogacy/ ; https://allfamiliessurrogacy.com/