Surrogacy & Egg Donor
Event, MELBOURNE
Date: 5 November 2023
You will receive reliable advice, support and guidance from Australian and world-leading experts to grow your family – all under one roof.
Sunday 5 November
10.30am to 4.30pm
Amora Hotel Riverwalk Richmond, Melbourne
Do you want to start or expand your family?
Covers topics such as:
Surrogacy, egg donation, pregnancy for women after 40, pregnancy after medical conditions, surrogacy in Australia, international surrogacy, international egg donors, options for the LGBTQ+ community and much more!
Talk with Experts Face-to-Face about Your Unique Situation!
We invite you to join us for informative seminars by Australian and international experts.
Interactive ‘Ask Me Anything’ panels, that includes recent parents who have been on their alternate family building journey.
There will be networking opportunities and plenty of time to talk one on one with experts at their information stands to find out the different ways to fulfill your family building dream!
Sunday 5 November 2023
10.30- 4.30pm
Amora Riverwalk Hotel Richmond, Melbourne
Our interactive format provides advice, introductions and answers to questions, no matter where you are in your journey. We cover steps on how to first engagement with professional service providers to taking your baby home.
Ticket Includes:
Fully catered: lunch and afternoon tea. Along with a networking drinks & nibbles function Saturday evening.
One-on-One consultations with as many experts as you like. View the profiles of each speaker and we can arrange your consultation meetings.
Agenda & Speakers
10.30am
Embryo Creation Options in Australia
Will discuss the regulated process in Australia on how to make embryos; your donor options, donor availability, suitability, screening and the process that follows which will include counselling as well as semen analysis and how to interpret embryo grading.
Dr Shadi Kashaba, IVF Australia
10.50am
Latest Trends In US Surrogacy
Which kind of IPs are best suited to programs in the US? What is the variability in program costs? Will surrogates agree to carry twins? What issues affect surrogate match times? How and when are surrogates screened?
Kristen Hanson, Simple Surrogacy
11.10am
Donor & Surrogacy Options in Argentina & Colombia
How stable are these programs? How long have they operated? What are the realities around birth certificates, match times? How is surrogate screening and care managed? Can sperm or embryos be shipped?
Tamari Kachlishvili (Argentina) Steven Swanepoel (Colombia)
11.40am
Parent Perspectives – What Happened in Greece?
Two couples who engaged with MFI Greece, experiencing births after the clinic was shut down, discuss the situation on the ground, developing relationships with their surrogate, how they coped and what help they received amidst the media storm that descended on the island.
Taryn & Maria John (mums via Greece)
12.00pm
Maximising Success/Minimising Risk in overseas arrangements
What is PGT-A testing? Why do US clinics so highly recommend it in surrogacy arrangements? What role does genetic carrier screening play? Can these processes be done in Australia? Why are Canadian clinics more likely to accept surrogates? What guarantees are available from IVF programs in Canada and the US? Issues with double embryo transfer
Dr Sandy Chuan, SDFC, Calif; Dr Clifford Librach, Create Fertility Centre, Canada
12.30pm
LUNCH & NETWORKING
1.20pm
Avoiding Heartbreak & Stress – Considerations in Selecting a Country
Where can I engage? What are the pros and cons of each destination? What due diligence is required? What is the situation in Australia, Georgia, Colombia, Argentina, US, Greece & Canada? What legal protections are offered? How do costs compare? How do hybrid programs work? Coping with twin pregnancies.
Sam Everingham, Growing Families
1.40pm
Surrogacy in Canada
What are the latest developments in regard to surrogate availability, agency re-match policies and intended parents rights in the Canadian context? Which Canadian provinces can foreigners engage in? What are the pros and cons of self-matching with a surrogate online?
Cindy Wasser, Hope Springs Fertility Law
1.50pm
The Future of Surrogacy in Europe
With the Ukraine war ongoing, Georgia so overwhelmed with demand that the government wants to close it, and Greece’s largest surrogacy program now closed, will surrogacy in Europe ever recover? What are the problems with options being offered in Kazakhstan and Armenia?
Panelists: Dr Uliana Dorofeyeva, Tamari Kashlishvili
2.05pm
A human rights perspective on the regulation of surrogacy
Surrogacy involves multiple parties who all have rights that need to be respected; the surrogate, intended parents and the child. How can Australia regulate surrogacy to ensure the rights of all parties are protected?
Professor Paula Gerber, Monash University, Victoria
2.20pm
International Donor Options
What are the options for donor eggs to come to Australia? Are there benefits of making the embryos offshore? What ethnicities are available? What clinics offer such programs? What are the costs?
Dr Uliana Dorofeyeva, Ovogene
2.40pm
Ethical Guidelines in International Surrogacy
Given the essentially unregulated nature of cross-border family building, Growing Families International Advisory Board has spent the last 5 months finessing guidelines that intended parents can use to assess programs before engaging. Includes audience Q&A.
Cindy Wasser, Hope Springs Fertility Law, Canada
2.50pm
AFTERNOON TEA & NETWORKING
3.20pm
Surrogate Perspectives
Hear from surrogates about why they help, what they look for in IPs and managing expectations
Morgan Louvier (US) , Bree Miller (AU)
3.40pm
The Reality ‘Ask Me Anything’ Parent Panel
Recent parents who engaged in Australia, Argentina, US, or Canada for family building discuss their journeys, the ups and downs, stressors, decision making and what they’d do differently if there was a next time
Andy Leonard (Argentina Paul Morley (Colombia)Marco Nazzaro (Canada) Jay Bowen (Australia) Angela Prasad (mum via USA)
4.30pm
Networking Drinks
Meet Our Expert Speakers
Cindy Wasser
Hope Springs Fertility Law, Canada
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Dr Sandy Chuan
Reproductive Endocrinologist, SDFC, USA
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Dr Shadi Khashaba
Reproductive Endocrinologist, IVF Australia
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Dr. Clifford Librach
Create Fertility Centre, Canada
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Dr. Uliana Dorofeyeva
Director, Clinical Operations, Ovogene, Slovakia
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Kristen Hanson
Owner, Simple Surrogacy, Texas
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Professor Paula Gerber
Human Rights Lawyer, Monash University, Vic
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Sam Everingham
Global Expert & Growing Families Director
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Steven Swanepoel
Territory Manager, Tammuz Family Aust & NZ
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Tamari Kachlishvili
Global Surrogacy Consulting, Argentina
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Family Members Sharing Their Stories
Andy Leonard
Dad via Argentina
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Angela Prasad
Mum via USA
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Bree Miller
Gestational Surrogate (VIC)
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Jay Bowen
Dad via domestic surrogacy
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Marco Nazzaro
Dad via Canada
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Maria John
Mum via Greece
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Morgan Louvier
Four-time surrogate
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Paul Morley
Dad via Colombia
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If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us via email: Info@growingfamilies.org.