Surrogate Services International is a for-profit surrogacy agency based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to its own description, it was founded in 2005 and works as a full-service fertility recruiting, matching and trust fund management agency, based in the United States and operating worldwide. TJ Henderson is listed as the company's chief executive officer.
As a full-service program, the agency handles the core steps of a surrogacy journey in-house rather than referring families out for each piece: recruiting and screening gestational carriers, matching them with intended parents, and coordinating the case from match through the arrangement. The agency also presents trust fund management among its services, meaning it administers the escrow account from which surrogate compensation and related expenses are paid. An egg donor program is offered alongside surrogacy, which can matter for intended parents who need both a donor and a carrier.
The agency works with LGBTQ+ intended parents and with single people building families on their own, and it accepts international intended parents as well as clients based in the United States. Its stated worldwide focus suggests experience coordinating journeys for families traveling to the U.S. for treatment and delivery.
The organization is currently active. Eligibility requirements for surrogates, fee and compensation information where available, and licensing and Better Business Bureau details appear in the sections below this summary.
AI summary of 23 reviews · can make mistakes
Reviews of Surrogate Services International are sharply mixed, and the split falls largely along time lines. Older reviews, mostly from surrogates and some intended parents, describe a warm, personal agency that made good matches and supported people through every step. More recent reviews are mostly negative, with reviewers reporting unanswered messages, scheduling problems, stalled progress and trouble getting money back.
23 reviews match these filters.
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View on Google (opens in a new tab)Did they go out of business? We've been trying to get our escrow back for over a year and TJ just stopped responding and now the website either moved or is down.
View on Google (opens in a new tab)Avoid this "firm" at all costs. As a same-sex couple, we tried working with TJ but experienced months of no progress. When we requested references, she promised to provide them but never followed through. Scheduling calls with her was extremely difficult, and her demeanor was consistently indifferent and unresponsive. As a multi-national same-sex couple, we initially tried to be patient, but we eventually gave up. Based on our experience, we believe she discriminated against us based on race and ethnic origin. Save yourself the frustration and look elsewhere—this firm is not credible or worth your time.
View on Google (opens in a new tab)My full review also is on Facebook. As intended parent who signed contract and paid full agency fee but had to dispute the charges through Paypal and my credit cards, I do not recommend TJ to any other IP or surrogate. In my opinion, TJ should be barred from conducting surrogacy business. Long story short: Day 0 - I signed contract and paid the full agency fee. Two days earlier my clinic in Philadelphia cleared the medical records of a first-time surrogate I was matched with. Then there is no progress. No match call was scheduled. Escrow account was not set up. No medical appointment or psych evaluation was scheduled. Day 54 - TJ texted me that the surrogate's immediately family died in a car accident last week. Surrogate will be in touch in the next month or so. TJ also texted we have another great candidate for you. - Only much later I contacted this surrogate. She applied (this is how TJ has this surrogate's records) but never signed contract to work with TJ. There is no car accident. Day 57 - TJ emailed me the Gestational Carrier Questionnaire of a one-time surrogate. - Only much later I contacted this surrogate. She did not know my name. She did not approve agency to show me the questionnaire. - Much much later I found that this surrogate posted google review after doing 2 journeys. Between that review and when I got the questionnaire (342 days), timeline is possible but tight for a journey for me. I think the surrogate was not available to me in the beginning. Day 57 - TJ also emailed me the Gestational Carrier Questionnaire and photos of another one-time surrogate. So I matched again. - Only much later I found that 9 days before I got the questionnaire, this surrogate posted in a Facebook group looking for match. She also posted that TJ knew and was ok with this. Anyway there is no progress again. No match call was scheduled. My clinic did not receive medical records. Day 84 - With time I have become suspicious that no surrogate is available to me. On this day I filed dispute with Paypal and credit cards and emailed to TJ to let her know about the dispute. No response from TJ till Day 95 - TJ texted me "schedules should be done & I will find out why" my clinic "doesn't have the records". I texted her to remind her the email to her on day 84. This is the last time I ever texted or emailed her. Btw, I was never able to speak to TJ on the phone after signing the contract or making the full agency fee payment. Only text or email. Also during the whole time, no other staff of TJ's agency was ever reaching out to me. My general recommendation for GC and IP is - Join Facebook groups to research on surrogacy agencies. "Surrogacy Industry Reviews- U.S. Only" is a good one. - Check if an agency is registered in New York State as Licensed Gestational Surrogacy Organizations if the agency is a national one or international. - Check if an agency is member of Seeds Ethics - How many staff does an agency have? Does an agency list its staff, at least names, on its website? - If you feel you need to file a consumer complaint, don't hesitate. AG office is one place to do so. Here is the one in PA. The agency's Google reviews have an interesting pattern. 5-star ratings or reviews, new or edited, tend to cluster within short period of time. You can use PlePer to Scrape Google Listing Reviews to show review's time stamp. It is in Bulgaria time, 7 hours ahead of EST. Bulgaria time because if you google "PlePer LTD linkedin" you will see founders are in Bulgaria.
View on Google (opens in a new tab)Google reviews are shown as written and link to the original. Reviewer type is inferred from what each reviewer wrote.
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