How to build a surrogate profile intended parents actually read

Intended parents judge your agency by the profiles you share. A profile that is warm, complete and current gets read to the end and leads to an introduction call. One that is a pasted application with a blurry photo slows the whole match.

Short answer: A strong surrogate profile leads with who she is (a few good photos and a letter in her own words about why she wants to help a family), then gives intended parents the facts they look for: her family and support, pregnancy and delivery history in summary, health and lifestyle, location and insurance, and her preferences on embryos, termination and selective reduction, and contact. It leaves out anything private or identifying the agency has not cleared, is laid out in your brand, and is kept up to date. Build it from her application so nothing is invented, and let her review it before it is shared.

Who reads it, and what they want

Intended parents read surrogate profiles slowly and more than once, often sharing them with family. They are asking three questions: Is she safe and healthy? Do we agree on the things that matter? Do we like her? The facts answer the first two. Her letter and photos answer the third, and that is usually what makes them ask for an introduction.

The sections, in order

1. Cover: her first name (or a profile name), a warm photo, state, age, and whether she is a first-time or experienced surrogate.
2. Her letter, in her own words.
3. About her: family, children, partner and support, work, interests, faith if she wants to share it.
4. Pregnancy and delivery history, in summary: how many, vaginal or C-section, any complications she has agreed to share. Full records go to the clinic, not the profile.
5. Health and lifestyle: non-smoking, general health, BMI range if your agency shares it.
6. Surrogacy preferences: views on the number of embryos to transfer, termination and selective reduction, prenatal testing, the kinds of intended parents she would like to help (including single parents, same-sex couples, international families), and how much contact she hopes for during and after.
7. Practical details: location and willingness to travel, insurance situation in summary, availability.
8. Where she is in screening, so intended parents know what has been completed.
9. More photos.

Helping her write the letter

Most surrogates find the letter the hardest part. A few prompts help: what made her think about surrogacy; what her pregnancies taught her; what her family thinks; what she hopes the intended parents will feel; what she would like the relationship to look like. Ask her to write as if she were talking to them across a table. Then edit lightly for clarity and spelling, never for personality. If she wrote it in Spanish, keep her voice in the translation. See serving Spanish-speaking surrogates.

Photos

• A clear, recent, smiling face photo for the cover.
• A couple of everyday photos: with her family (if she is comfortable sharing her children), outdoors, doing something she loves.
• Natural light, no heavy filters, nothing that reveals her address or her children's school.
• Crop and arrange them well. A good photo badly cropped looks careless.

What to keep private

• Surname, address, workplace and anything else identifying, unless your program and she agree otherwise.
• Full medical records, psychological evaluation results and background check reports.
• Financial details and public benefit information.
• Anything she told her coordinator in confidence.

Decide these rules once, at the agency level, so profiles are consistent. See HIPAA and data privacy for agencies.

Keeping profiles current

A profile shared six months after it was written may be wrong: a new job, a move, a change in insurance, new photos. Ask approved surrogates to confirm their details whenever they are about to be shared, rebuild the profile when her answers change, and take profiles down once she is matched so no other family falls in love with a surrogate who is no longer available.

Donor and intended parent profiles

The same principles apply in the other direction. Intended parent profiles, which surrogates read, should lead with a letter and photos, then explain their story, their family, the support they will offer and their preferences. Egg donor profiles lean more on photos (often at several ages), education and detailed health and family history. See egg donor matching.

A review checklist before you share

• Has she read and approved the profile, including the translation if there is one?
• Are the photos recent, clear and free of anything identifying?
• Do the facts match her application and records (number of deliveries, location)?
• Are her preferences stated clearly, in her own terms?
• Is anything private included that should not be?
• Is anything missing that intended parents always ask about?
• Does it look like your agency: your logo, colours and a consistent layout?

How SurroHub helps

SurroHub builds the profile for you from what is on file, in your brand, and lets families browse it in their portal.

• Profiles that build themselves. Surro reads everything on file (the application, forms and documents) and lays out a polished profile in seconds: her letter in her own words, her details, pregnancy history and preferences. It is built from her file, never invented, and anything Surro could not fill is listed so you know what to ask for.
• Edit anything. Click any line to edit it, add your own sections and full or half-page photo pages, crop, swap and arrange photos, and drag pages into place.
• Your brand on every page. Your colours and logo, as a share link or a PDF to send.
• Rebuild when they update. New answers come in and you approve every change before it shows.
• Families browse in their portal. Share a profile and it appears in the intended parents' portal straight away; they tap “I'm interested” and their coordinator hears instantly. You see who viewed what. Once a match is made, SurroHub offers to take down the profiles they no longer need.
• In the reader's language. Keep saved copies of a profile in other languages for international families.

Want the facts in one place? SurroHub by the numbers: what it is, who built it, and what agencies run on it today.

Frequently asked questions

← Back to SurroHub