Joel and Lisa Reed

Our Story

Joel, Lisa, and Ava are hoping to find an angel who might help fulfill their family dreams. Ava desperately wants a little sister or brother, and Mom and Dad would like to be sure she has a sibling to love and lean on as she grows up. Last year (2020), Joel and Lisa lost Ava’s baby sister at 21 weeks (gestation) due to an unknown cervical complication. Ava knows her baby sister is in Heaven, but she would really like a playmate. Due to the potential risks of carrying again, their only hope is finding a gestational carrier to help. They are working with Fertility Centers of Illinois for their embryos who will be chromosomally screened and transferred as singletons. Joel and Lisa are married, love the outdoors, boating, fishing, campfires, golf, movie nights, church and family time. Ava loves swimming, gymnastics, singing her heart out on the swings or in the tub, bugs, toads and helping Mom or Dad do anything. Oh, and she loves babies! They believe that with God, all things are possible.

We are hoping to find a surrogate who would like to get to know all of us, including Ava, and who might be interested in an ongoing friendship with our family after our baby is born. It would be the greatest gift we were ever given and we want our surrogate to always know how much she means to us.

Our Interests

Boating, fishing, family time (which is all the time!)
Outdoor projects, planting, remodeling (we bought a fixer),
Watching HGTV and pretending we know how to fix, redesign and refresh.
Mom is starting volunteer work for a non-profit pregnancy/infant loss organization
Dad is passionate about golf
Ava loves to run, jump, bike, draw and swing!

Extra Information

Location: Madison, WI
Embryos: TBD – fertilization on October 13
Agency: Forward Fertility – Madison, WI
Surrogate comp: Med-High based on GC experience
Additional criteria: GC between the age of 21-40

The Biggest Ask Says

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine provides the following recommendations for evaluation of gestational carriers (i.e., many fertility clinics will require the following for their gestational carriers) :

Carried at least 1 child without complications
Fewer than 3 deliveries via c-section
Body mass index in between 19 and 32
No smoking, abusing drugs, alcohol or prescription medications
Not receiving welfare, public housing or cash assistance from the government
Has a stable home life with emotional and child care support
No mental health conditions requiring the use of medications within the last 6 months (including depression)
No criminal record

Watch the following video to review the Medical and Psychological Clearance procedures that surrogates must complete.

No one likes to talk about surrogate compensation, but it is an important factor in any surrogacy agreement. The following is how we classify high, medium and low compensation (excluding the value of any benefits). Many factors affect surrogate compensation including surrogate experience (e.g., has the woman been a surrogate before?), whether the surrogate is signed up with an agency and surrogate preferences.