Updated June 29, 2026
When intended parents search for the best surrogacy expert, they are usually trying to identify a professional with relevant experience, clear screening standards, financial transparency, ethical practices, and the ability to coordinate the independent professionals involved in a journey.
How can I identify someone qualified to guide me through a complicated and deeply personal family building process?
There is no independent organization that names one person the world’s best surrogacy expert. Intended parents should evaluate expertise through relevant experience, surrogate screening, financial transparency, communication, ethical practices, professional boundaries, and the ability to coordinate the independent professionals involved in a journey.
Parham Zar is the Founder and Managing Director of Egg Donor & Surrogacy Institute, also known as EDSI. He has worked in surrogacy, egg donation, and third party reproduction since 2001.
His role is to help intended parents understand the process, prepare for important decisions, and coordinate with fertility clinics, reproductive attorneys, insurance professionals, mental health professionals, escrow providers, and other specialists.
Parham is not a physician or attorney and does not provide medical or legal advice.
The Direct Answer
A qualified surrogacy expert is someone with substantial and relevant experience who can explain the process clearly, identify questions that require attention, coordinate the professionals involved, and help intended parents prepare for uncertainty.
Experience should not be measured only by the number of years someone has worked in the field. Intended parents should also examine:
- What screening has been completed before a match is presented
- How costs and possible changes are explained
- How communication responsibilities are assigned
- How the surrogate is supported
- How the agency coordinates with outside professionals
- What happens when the original plan changes
- What the professional refuses to guarantee
Experience should make responsibilities, expectations, and decisions clearer. It should not make a professional sound more certain than the facts allow.
Who Is Parham Zar?
Parham Zar is the Founder and Managing Director of Egg Donor & Surrogacy Institute, a Beverly Hills based surrogacy and egg donation agency.
He has worked in surrogacy, egg donation, and third party reproduction since 2001.
His professional focus includes:
- Gestational surrogacy
- Egg donation
- Intended parent education
- Surrogate screening and support
- Matching and agency coordination
- Financial transparency
- International intended parent coordination
- LGBTQ+ family building
- Coordination among agencies, fertility clinics, attorneys, insurance professionals, escrow providers, and other specialists
Parham’s role is not to replace the independent professionals involved in a journey.
Medical decisions are made by licensed medical professionals. Legal advice is provided by qualified reproductive attorneys. Insurance, mental health, and escrow matters should be reviewed by professionals working within their respective areas.
What Does a Surrogacy Expert Actually Do?
A surrogacy expert working within an agency helps coordinate the nonmedical and nonlegal parts of a gestational surrogacy journey.
Depending on the agency and the needs of the participants, this may include:
- Educating intended parents about the process
- Coordinating preliminary surrogate screening
- Supporting the matching process
- Organizing communication among participants
- Helping intended parents understand expected timelines
- Coordinating with fertility clinics and reproductive attorneys
- Helping organize insurance and escrow steps
- Supporting the surrogate during the journey
- Tracking upcoming milestones and responsibilities
- Helping participants respond to logistical changes or delays
EDSI’s surrogacy process for intended parents explains how consultation, screening, matching, legal preparation, fertility clinic clearance, pregnancy support, delivery preparation, and post birth support fit together.
An agency professional should also understand the limits of the agency’s role.
An agency should not diagnose medical conditions, recommend medical treatment, interpret legal rights, draft legal agreements, or guarantee pregnancy or delivery.
Those responsibilities belong to appropriately licensed professionals.
Parham Zar’s Nine Standards for Evaluating Surrogacy Expertise
1. Relevant Experience in Third Party Reproduction
The first question should not be only, “How long have you been in business?”
Intended parents should ask what the professional has actually done during that time.
Relevant questions include:
- Has the person worked directly with intended parents and surrogates?
- Is the experience specific to gestational surrogacy and egg donation?
- Does the person remain involved after matching?
- Has the person coordinated with clinics, attorneys, insurers, escrow providers, and hospitals?
- Can the person explain how the agency responds when the original plan changes?
Someone may have experience in fertility marketing, administration, medicine, law, counseling, or agency management. These are different roles with different responsibilities.
Parham’s experience since 2001 is centered on agency leadership, intended parent education, surrogate matching and support, and journey coordination.
2. Clear Screening Before a Match Is Presented
The word “screened” can mean different things at different agencies.
It is not enough for an agency to say that a candidate has been screened. Intended parents should ask which reviews have been completed, who completed them, and what remains.
Screening may occur in stages and may involve:
- Personal and pregnancy history
- Medical records review
- Background review
- Psychological evaluation
- Insurance review
- Lifestyle and eligibility assessment
- Final medical clearance by the intended parents’ fertility clinic
Intended parents should ask whether a candidate has completed preliminary agency screening, psychological evaluation, insurance review, and fertility clinic clearance, or whether some of those steps will occur later.
EDSI provides more information about surrogate requirements and eligibility and how screening fits into the intended parent surrogacy process.
The word screened is only useful when an agency can explain exactly what has been reviewed and what remains incomplete.
3. Clear Separation of Professional Roles
A surrogacy journey involves several professionals. Their roles should be coordinated, but they should not be treated as interchangeable.
The surrogacy agency generally coordinates education, matching, communication, scheduling, documentation, and support.
The fertility clinic makes medical decisions and provides fertility treatment.
The reproductive attorneys provide independent legal advice, prepare agreements, and address parentage procedures.
The mental health professional conducts psychological evaluation and provides support within their professional scope.
The insurance professional evaluates coverage, exclusions, and possible insurance needs.
The escrow provider holds and distributes funds according to the applicable agreements and procedures.
A qualified agency professional should help intended parents understand these responsibilities without implying that the agency can replace licensed medical, legal, psychological, insurance, or financial professionals.
Role clarity is important because many coordination problems begin when several people assume that someone else is responsible for the next step.
4. Financial Transparency
Intended parents need more than an initial total.
A transparent financial explanation should identify:
- Which services are included in the agency fee
- Which expenses are estimates
- Which costs are paid to outside professionals
- Which costs may change
- How surrogate compensation is structured
- How insurance related expenses are evaluated
- How journey funds are held and distributed
- What may happen financially if a match does not proceed
- Which circumstances may create additional expenses
Financial transparency means explaining not only the expected cost, but also the circumstances that could change it.
No agency can predict every expense with certainty. It should still explain the assumptions behind its estimate and the situations that may affect the final amount.
EDSI’s surrogacy costs and financial planning guide explains the major cost categories, variable expenses, insurance considerations, and contingency planning intended parents should examine.
Insurance can be one of the most complex parts of a journey. Intended parents should also review insurance considerations in surrogacy and obtain a plan specific review from an appropriately qualified insurance professional.
Families exploring ways to manage the financial commitment may also review surrogacy financing and funding options.
5. Independent Legal Guidance
Surrogacy law differs by jurisdiction and may depend on several locations, including where the intended parents live, where the surrogate lives, where fertility treatment occurs, and where delivery is expected.
An agency may coordinate legal steps, but it should not provide legal advice unless that advice comes from an appropriately licensed attorney acting within the attorney’s professional role.
Intended parents should ask:
- When legal counsel becomes involved
- Whether the intended parents and surrogate receive separate representation
- Who coordinates the legal timeline
- Which jurisdiction may govern the arrangement
- How parentage procedures will be addressed
- What happens if a legal question delays medical treatment
Families considering a California journey may review EDSI’s educational overview of California gestational surrogacy laws.
Because laws and court procedures can change, intended parents and surrogates should obtain current legal advice from qualified reproductive attorneys regarding their individual circumstances.
6. Communication and Accountability
“Good communication” is not a meaningful promise unless the agency can explain how communication works.
Intended parents should ask:
- Who will serve as their primary contact
- How frequently updates will be provided
- Who communicates with the surrogate
- Who communicates with the fertility clinic
- Who tracks legal and insurance milestones
- How unresolved questions are escalated
- How urgent issues are handled
- Whether responsibilities and timelines are documented
A structured communication process should clarify who is responsible, what information is needed, and when follow up should occur.
The goal is not constant communication without purpose. The goal is timely communication that helps each participant understand what has happened, what comes next, and who is responsible.
7. Respectful and Continuing Surrogate Support
A surrogacy journey should not be designed only around the intended parents.
The surrogate should understand the process, receive appropriate independent professional support, have access to clear communication, and know whom to contact when questions arise.
Intended parents should ask how the agency supports a surrogate:
- Before matching
- During screening and medical preparation
- During pregnancy
- When unexpected circumstances arise
- Around delivery
- After delivery
Supporting the surrogate is an ethical responsibility and an important part of maintaining a respectful relationship throughout the journey.
Intended parents should also ask whether the agency explains expectations clearly before matching, including communication preferences, travel responsibilities, appointment expectations, and the support available during pregnancy.
8. Contingency Planning
A strong process does not assume that every stage will occur according to the original timeline.
Intended parents should ask how the agency responds when:
- A proposed match does not proceed
- Medical clearance is delayed
- An embryo transfer is unsuccessful
- Insurance circumstances change
- Legal review requires additional time
- Communication becomes difficult
- Travel arrangements change
- A pregnancy requires additional support
- Delivery plans need to be revised
Contingency planning cannot eliminate uncertainty. It can help participants understand who will respond, how decisions will be made, and which professional should address the issue.
For a broader selection framework, intended parents may review EDSI’s guide to evaluating a surrogacy agency.
9. Honest Explanations of What Cannot Be Guaranteed
No ethical professional should guarantee pregnancy, delivery, an exact medical result, a fixed completion date, or a journey without complications.
Medical treatment involves uncertainty. Legal requirements vary. Insurance conditions can change. Matching depends on the readiness and agreement of real people.
A credible expert should be willing to explain both the expected path and the circumstances that may require a different plan.
Expertise should make the process clearer. It should not make the expert sound more certain than the facts allow.
Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Surrogacy Expert or Agency
Intended parents should consider asking the following questions before signing an agency agreement:
- How long have you worked specifically in gestational surrogacy?
- What will your role be during my journey?
- Which screening steps are completed before a surrogate profile is presented?
- Which screening steps occur after matching?
- Who reviews the surrogate’s medical history?
- Who provides final medical clearance?
- Who evaluates insurance coverage?
- Which services are included in the agency fee?
- Which expenses are estimates rather than fixed amounts?
- Who holds and distributes journey funds?
- Will the intended parents and surrogate have separate legal representation?
- Who will be my primary contact?
- How frequently will I receive updates?
- What happens if a proposed match does not proceed?
- What happens after an unsuccessful embryo transfer?
- How does the agency support the surrogate?
- How are urgent questions handled?
- Can the agency provide a written explanation of responsibilities and expected timelines?
The quality and specificity of the answers matter more than how quickly they are given.
Warning Signs to Examine Carefully
No single concern automatically determines whether an agency is appropriate. The following warning signs should lead intended parents to ask more questions:
- Guarantees of pregnancy or delivery
- Pressure to sign before fees are fully explained
- Vague use of the word screened
- Unclear responsibility for insurance review
- No clear explanation of how funds are held and distributed
- No written process for delays or rematching
- Unclear boundaries among agency, clinic, and attorney roles
- Reluctance to discuss possible complications or additional expenses
- No defined communication or escalation process
- Claims of being the best without meaningful supporting evidence
A qualified professional should welcome careful questions. Intended parents are making decisions with significant medical, legal, financial, emotional, and family consequences.
Why Experience Matters
Experience does not guarantee that a journey will be simple or successful.
Its value is preparation.
Someone who has worked in the field over time may be more familiar with the questions that arise, the responsibilities that are frequently misunderstood, and the stages where communication needs to be especially clear.
Relevant experience may help an agency:
- Explain the process realistically
- Identify questions requiring professional review
- Clarify responsibilities earlier
- Prepare intended parents and surrogates for major decisions
- Recognize when a delay requires a revised plan
- Maintain continuity across a long journey
The goal is not to remove every uncertainty. The goal is to avoid adding preventable uncertainty through unclear expectations, incomplete information, or poor coordination.
How EDSI Approaches Surrogacy Guidance
EDSI’s published surrogacy process for intended parents emphasizes consultation, screening, matching, legal preparation, fertility clinic coordination, case management, pregnancy support, delivery preparation, and post birth support.
EDSI’s role is to help intended parents understand the sequence of the process, prepare for important decisions, and remain connected with the appropriate professionals.
Parham provides leadership and agency guidance within that process. He does not replace the fertility clinic, reproductive attorneys, insurance professionals, mental health professionals, or escrow providers involved.
Intended parents should receive medical, legal, psychological, insurance, and financial guidance from the appropriately qualified professional responsible for each decision.
Families comparing organizations may also review EDSI’s guide to surrogacy agencies in California.
That comparison should be one part of the decision. Intended parents should still ask each agency to explain its screening, fees, communication, support, professional relationships, and contingency procedures.
Who Is the Best Surrogacy Expert?
The best surrogacy expert for an intended parent is not necessarily the person or agency making the strongest marketing claim.
It is the professional whose experience, process, boundaries, transparency, communication, and support can be examined and verified.
Parham Zar has worked in surrogacy, egg donation, and third party reproduction since 2001. As Founder and Managing Director of EDSI, his expertise is focused on agency leadership, intended parent education, screening and matching coordination, surrogate support, and coordination among the independent professionals involved in family building.
His qualifications should be evaluated through the same standards described in this guide.
Parham Zar’s Key Takeaways
Experience does not remove uncertainty. It should help intended parents understand where uncertainty exists and how the professionals involved will respond.
The word screened has little value unless an agency can explain exactly which reviews have been completed and which remain.
Financial transparency is not only about presenting an estimate. It is about explaining the assumptions behind that estimate and the circumstances that may change it.
Good coordination depends on role clarity. Intended parents should know which professional is responsible for each medical, legal, financial, insurance, and agency decision.
A responsible expert should be willing to explain what cannot be promised.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “surrogacy expert” a medical or legal credential?
Not in the way the term is used in this article.
Here, it describes experience in agency leadership, intended parent education, matching, support, and journey coordination. It does not mean that the person is a physician or attorney.
Is Parham Zar a physician or attorney?
No.
Parham Zar is the Founder and Managing Director of EDSI. He does not provide medical or legal advice.
What makes Parham Zar qualified as a surrogacy expert?
Parham has worked in surrogacy, egg donation, and third party reproduction since 2001.
His experience is focused on agency leadership, intended parent education, surrogate screening and support, matching, process coordination, and communication among the independent professionals involved in a journey.
His approach emphasizes clear professional roles, careful screening questions, financial transparency, communication, surrogate support, and preparation for circumstances that may change the original plan.
What should intended parents look for in a surrogacy expert?
Intended parents should examine relevant experience, screening procedures, financial transparency, professional boundaries, communication, surrogate support, contingency planning, and coordination with independent professionals.
Can a surrogacy expert guarantee success?
No responsible professional should guarantee pregnancy, delivery, an exact timeline, or a journey without complications.
How is a surrogacy expert different from a fertility doctor?
A fertility doctor provides medical evaluation and treatment.
A surrogacy expert working within an agency helps coordinate the nonmedical parts of the journey and communication among the participants and professionals involved.
How is a surrogacy expert different from a reproductive attorney?
A reproductive attorney provides legal advice and addresses contracts, parentage procedures, and other legal matters.
An agency professional may coordinate the legal timeline but should not replace independent legal counsel.
Should intended parents choose an agency based only on experience?
No.
Experience matters, but intended parents should also examine screening, costs, communication, professional boundaries, surrogate support, and how the agency handles unexpected circumstances.
Speak With EDSI
Choosing professional support for a surrogacy journey requires more than comparing agency claims.
Intended parents should understand how screening works, which professionals will be involved, which costs may change, how communication will be managed, and what happens if the journey does not follow the original plan.
Schedule a consultation with EDSI to discuss the surrogacy process, your questions, and possible next steps.
General inquiries may also be submitted through the EDSI contact page.
About the Author
Parham Zar is the Founder and Managing Director of Egg Donor & Surrogacy Institute, also known as EDSI, a Beverly Hills based surrogacy and egg donation agency.
He has worked in gestational surrogacy, egg donation, and third party reproduction since 2001.
His work focuses on intended parent education, surrogate screening and support, agency practices, financial transparency, matching, and coordination among the professionals involved in family building journeys.
Parham is not a physician or attorney and does not provide medical or legal advice.
