Sam is dad to two girls Zoe & Ruby via surrogacy and has become one of the globe’s foremost commentators and researchers on surrogacy trends. He convenes conferences and seminars for intended parents in Ireland, UK, Australia, Asia and Scandinavia. Sam consults with singles and couples from around the globe to assist them to plan safe and reliable routes to building families through surrogacy. He has behind-the-scenes knowledge of providers of egg donation and surrogacy around the globe. He has seen the best and worst that surrogacy can deliver.  He continues to promote best practice through conferences, one-on-one consultation and online resources. He runs a healthcare research consultancy and is the author of three books and is a non-executive director of the charity Surrogacy Australia.

Karen Synesiou is the CEO of the Center for Surrogate Parenting, Inc.(CSP). Karen was born in England, where she obtained her law degree. Her unique background gives her a greater understanding when helping international intended parents with surrogacy. Karen Synesiou has been the CEO at CSP for over 30 years and has celebrated the birth of over 2,500 babies! Karen is recognized worldwide as an expert in the field of surrogacy and assisted reproduction.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Christene: christene@creatingfamilies.com

Since qualifying in April 2018 Victoria has developed a specialism in international surrogacy, a niche and growing area of Family Law which she is passionate about. Victoria assists intended parents in obtaining  Parental Orders so they can be recognised as the legal parents of their children born through surrogacy. Victoria has worked with a wide range of clients who have chosen to enter into surrogacy arrangements in a variety of different countries including the Ukraine, the US, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Victoria:
vmaxwell@bishopandsewell.co.uk

Tracey Sainsbury has been involved in providing fertility support for over 20 years, author of Making Friends with your Fertility, providing enhanced awareness of what goes on consciously and unconsciously as we try to conceive with assistance.  Tracey leads the patient support team for the London Women’s Clinic, sits on the advisory panel for Fertility Network UK and is a Trustee for the Sperm Egg and Embryo Donation (SEED) Trust.

Dr. Maas is a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist. Dr. Maas earned his M.D. degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and completed a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology during his medical training. Dr. Maas completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Stanford University. During his time at Stanford, he won numerous teaching awards and was twice awarded the Julianne O’Callahan Award for compassion in patient care. Dr. Maas has presented his research at a number of national conferences and written numerous scientific publications in a range of nationally recognized journals. Most recently he has investigated mechanisms of androgen excess in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Dr. Maas is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Maas also speaks Spanish, and enjoys cross-country skiing.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Dr Maas: info@icrminternational.com

Molly O’Brien has worked in the field of Assisted Reproduction since 2005. Previously, she worked for an Egg Donation Agency and a Surrogacy Agency where she became familiar with all aspects of assisted reproduction. Since becoming an attorney in 2011, she has gained extensive experience in drafting and negotiating Surrogacy, Egg Donation and Sperm and Embryo Donation Contracts. Ms. O’Brien has also appeared before many local Judges to help parents finalize their parental rights, and has extensive experience in obtaining all documents necessary for her clients to return to their home country. Molly O’Brien graduated Magna Cum Laude from Whittier Law School and authored a Whittier Law Review titled: An Intersection of Ethics and the Law: The Frozen Embryo Dilemma and the Chilling Choice Between Life and Death. Ms. O’Brien is the Chair of the Legal Professional Group section of ASRM. Additionally, Ms. O’Brien is a member of the ABA A.R.T. Executive Committee and the ABA Sponsorship Committee, and she is a member of SEEDS.

Tamari is an experienced international fertility manager,  with a long history working in local and international health care industry, a Medical degree and a Master’s degree in Public Health and Health Policy. What she enjoys most  is the variety of roles and the type of environments she is exposed to. Being involved in the fertility sector allows Tamari to work with different teams on new projects/programs, work in different cultural environments, be exposed to various systems, and manage her time and efforts against very specific deliverables, thus being able to gain insight into managing projects from different angles.  Her specific interest is in the inter-dependencies of global and national practices, in how policies are written  based on different regional contexts and translated into real medical solution to ensure better health outcomes.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email tamarikachlishvili@yahoo.com

Anna is the founder and the Head Coordinator of Perfect Surrogacy Coordination Center. Based in the beautiful city of Odessa,, Anna is a Civil lawyer, specialized in reproductive law, fertility assistance specialist since 2012, certified interpreter in German and English. You can book a private consultation with Anna. Please email: go@perfect-surrogacy.com

Slava is the founder of Surrogate Baby, a Russian agency implementing gestational surrogacy programs, donation programs and other family projects in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad since 2013. Their services are available for intended parents from all over the world – both couples and single parents. They are LGBT-friendly.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Slava: english@surrogatebaby.com

Nikita is the Business Development Manager at the St Petersburg based Next Generation Clinic in Russia, which offers a range of egg donor and surrogacy programs. He has five years experience in the reproductive medicine field, particularly in international surrogacy and egg donor programs

Donor Conception Network is a charity offering support and information to anyone considering donor conception (with or without surrogacy) as well as parents of children conceived this way and donor conceived children and young people.  They  do this through membership, a website, publications, workshops, the DCN Journal and telephone and email helplines. They offer contact and peer-to-peer support via our Welcomer team, our two annual conferences and 25+ local groups around the UK and Ireland. The organisation is parent-led and child-focussed, helping people with the social and emotional aspects of creating or expanding a family through donor conception

Sarah  is Director of the Progress Educational Trust , Commissioning Editor of its flagship publication BioNews and Co-Chair of the campaigning organisation Fertility Fairness. She is also a Member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority‘s National Donation Strategy Group, the National Gamete Donation Trust’s Advisory Council and the Association of Fertility Patient Organisations. She represents PET at conferences and in the broadcast media both nationally and internationally  as well as in national newspapers, and in biomedical publications aimed at the public and at specialists. Together with Sandy Starr, she organises PET’s public events.

Sarah chaired the steering group of clinicians, scientists, patient support groups and medical research charities which fed into policy for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. She has also been a member of the Education, Engagement and Training Working Group of the UK Government‘s Human Genomics Strategy Group, and she has advised on research projects including Assessing Child Welfare under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: The New Law and Transnational Reproduction: An Exploratory Study of UK Residents Who Travel Abroad for Fertility Treatment. 

Diana is Head of international cooperation at Ava Fertility Clinic in St Petersburg, Russia. She is a member of ASRM and ESHRE. She has an academic post with the Medical Faculty, St Petersburg State University. She has a large surrogacy practice. Her research into patients with recurrent implantation failure has been published in August 2018 in the European Medical Journal.  The AVA-PETER Clinic is the oldest private fertility clinic in Russia and has offered its experience and expertise in fertility treatments both to residents as to foreign patients since 1996. Their medical specialists and tutors are trained to care for patients in English, French, Spanish and Chinese thus breaking the language barrier.

One-on-one consultations are available by emailing info@isa-mail.ru

Olga is an Intended Parent Partner at World Center of Baby – a full-service surrogacy agency based in Kyiv, Ukraine dedicated to creating new life while ensuring the interests and safety of the intended parents and surrogates in the field of reproductive technology. Coming from a background in education, Olga became attracted to creating something precious and valuable within the reproductive technologies sector. Olga is actively involved in fertility exhibitions and worldwide seminars in order to share her knowledge and experience with potential parents, partners and fertility professionals.”

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Olga:  olga@worldcenterofbaby.com

Maria is a lawyer and an accredited Negotiator. She was admitted to the Thessaloniki Bar Association in 2000 and has been a partner at NOMOS Law Firm since 2009. Maria is a holder of an LL.B and an LL.M. degree in Commercial Law. In 2014 Maria was also awarded an Interdepartmental Master degree on Medical Law and Bioethics by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Maria advises on assisted reproductive technology (ART) law and surrogacy issues. In her capacity as an accredited Negotiator she has accumulated extensive experience in handling complex and highly sensitive fertility and parenting law cases. Maria is fluent in Greek (mother tongue), English, German and Spanish, both oral and written.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Maria: mv@nomos.gr

Oksana is the Exit Process Manager at World Center of Baby with extensive first hand experience as she has assisted more than 250 couples from the European countries, South America, Australia, Canada, USA, Ireland and UK. She accompanies Intended Parents from the day of childbirth to the moment they receive travel documents for the newborn. Oksana has learned all legal aspects of surrogacy and immigration law in Ukraine and she knows how to achieve a smooth and straightforward exit process without any delays. She is excited to share this experience with all participants of the seminar including infertile couples who are considering surrogacy in Ukraine.

Serjay is the founder of Isida Care. For the last 3 years he worked at Isida Clinic as head of Business Development and Innovation. He has a Bachelor degree in business administration from the International university of Monaco and a Masters in International Healthcare Management from the Frankfurt school of finance and management.

Alex is a Senior Associate within Fragomen’s private client practice. He has more than 10 years experience across the full range of UK immigration matters. Alex handles complex nationality claims in multiple European jurisdictions, and supports clients with immigration and nationality implications of international surrogacy and adoption. Alex has an in-depth knowledge of European free movement rights.  Alex studied philosophy at Girton College, Cambridge before completing a law degree from the University of Law in Guildford.  He qualified at a legal aid practice specialising in asylum and human rights claims before joining Fragomen in April 2015.

Complimentary One on One Consultations are available during the event. To book please email Alexander:
Alexander.Finch@Fragomen.com

Saarthak Bakshi is known for his persona as an entrepreneur and a social worker.  He has worked in the global surrogacy and egg donor sector for over a decade. Co-founder of International Fertility Centre in 2012 – one of the leading fertility clinics in India, IFC has treated thousands of couples with the help of assisted reproductive technologies like IVF, ICSI, IUI, Egg donation and Surrogacy and is now a network of more than 10 IVF Clinics globally. Saarthak joined hands with the Seed ART Bank with a comprehensive egg donor database to offer childless couples healthy egg donors to achieve successful pregnancies. He has held infertility camps in Ethiopia, Uganda, Afghanistan and India to make people aware about fertility issues and how can they be treated.

Richard is a 35 year old, corporate marketing director in London. He and his husband Dario, their young son and two dogs completed US surrogacy in August 2018 with Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine and hope to embark on a sibling journey within the next year.

Tracey has a four amazing little girls of her own and has been an egg donor and surrogate. She has done two rounds of egg donation – one resulted in a baby boy for a recipient couple. Too old to continue as a donor, Tracey was keen to be a surrogate, but needed further guidance and support on a whole raft of questions. She discovered Brilliant Beginnings, and the way they match their Intended parents to their Surrogates really appealed .
She has been matched twice. The first couple, she undertook four rounds of IVF for – none were successful and her recipients pulled out.
But Tracey was determined to try again and was matched with another couple – this transfer worked first time, resulting in a beautiful baby girl being born in February 2018. They remain in regular contact and are currently looking at doing a sibling cycle

Shabana is a mother through Ukraine surrogacy currently going through a second journey. She is a blogger who has openly shared her experience and journey since 2016 and has been supporting couples who are going through infertility. She speaks to couples looking at infertility treatment options . Her personal experience of IVF and surrogacy means she can provide support to couples in a compassionate way, as well as sharing her knowledge in this area.

Michael and his husband Shar have two sons through a hybrid route of surrogacy/egg donation in Canada and a clinic in the United States. Michael is a champion of shared parental leave, having taken equal responsibility with Shar for care of their sons.

Yuriy is a UK resident and single intended dad who has engaged in surrogacy with international Surrogacy Agency in St Petersburg. Of Russian background, Yuriy felt that their program made perfect sense as it welcomed single dads also, His first embryo transfer failed, but the second was successful and he is expecting the welcome his child in a few months. He will discuss his experience to date.

Kate is the moderator of a popular surrogacy forum called Hope . She is married to Rebecca  who have five children between them you youngest been carried by Rebecca conceived using a known sperm donor. Kate has engaged in straight  (using own eggs) and host (gestational) surrogacy. She has had two successful journeys for a same sex couple and for a Nigerian / British couple. She is now working with Jason, a single male recipient. Their first transfer ended in an ectopic pregnancy and termination. She will discuss what motivates her to keep assisting childless couples

Oksana is a 35-years old Ukranian surrogate, living in Pavlograd, Dnipro region and the mother of three beautiful daughters. She carried successfully for a US couple in 2018. That time Oksana gave birth to twins and she is still in contact with this family. Since then, she has begun a second journey for a UK couple with the help of Perfect Surrogacy Coordination Center (in Odesa and Kyiv, Ukraine). Oksana is also an active member of the Ukraine surrogacy community, representing the rights of Ukrainian surrogate mothers.

Marina is a Ukraine surrogate who has carried a boy for a Brazilian infertile couple. She will discuss her motivations for helping as a surrogate, her needs during the journey and the relationship surrogates expect from Intended parents.