Family Source Consultants 155 North Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606

"Disappointing Experience with Family Source Consultants - Unmet Promises and Delays in Surrogacy Process Review: As someone who has recently gone through the surrogacy and egg donation process with Family Source Consultants (FSC), I feel compelled to share my experience, particularly after my partner's review was removed. While there were positive aspects, notably in the egg donation phase, our overall journey with FSC was marred by unmet promises and frustrating delays, especially in the surrogacy aspect. The positive: The process of egg donation was a highlight for us. It was made special by our own efforts to get to know our egg donor, which FSC facilitated. This personal connection greatly enhanced our experience, making it the more positive aspect of our journey with FSC. The negative: Our experience with the surrogacy process was deeply disappointing. Initially, FSC's sales team was persuasive and confident, promising a match within 3-6 months, hinting it would likely be closer to 3. This promise was a key factor in our decision to choose FSC. However, the reality was starkly different. We went through several match coordinators, and the communication we received was largely the same each month – "nothing to report, but we keep looking for the perfect match." This repetitive and non-progressive update was disheartening and frustrating. As the contract guarantees a match by 12 months, it felt like FSC was racing against time in the 12th month, suddenly presenting us with numerous potential matches. This last-minute rush appeared more like an effort to fulfill contractual obligations rather than a genuine attempt to find the right match for us. This approach lacked the personalization and care we expected and contrasted sharply with the promises made at the outset. Overall, our experience with FSC left us feeling let down. The strong sales process and initial promises did not translate into the attentive and efficient service we were led to expect. While the egg donation part of our journey was positive, mainly due to our own initiative in building a connection with the donor, the surrogacy process was fraught with delays and a lack of meaningful progress, culminating in a rushed and impersonal attempt to meet contractual terms. I hope this review helps others in making an informed decision when considering FSC for similar services. Pedro Jungk"

"I began my surrogacy journey with Family Source Consultants in 2022 and let me just say, it has been nothing short of amazing. I applied late one evening and THE VERY NEXT DAY I received a call from FSC. Shortly after speaking with them, I had my interview the same day. Since that day they kept in contact with with me whether it be on a weekend or late at night. As a curious person, I tend to have many questions and anytime I’ve contacted my manager with a question, theyve gone above and beyond to answer it. When I say above and beyond, I mean she let me call her at 9:30pm and not only answered my questions but filled me in on even more helpful information. Amber was my case manager and she is absolutely amazing and has been on the ball since day one. I have enjoyed working with FSC. I gave birth to surrobabe May 2023. Ill also add that it only took about 2 weeks to match. I’m so excited to continue Surrogacy Journeys with them!"

"Very professional and experienced, the team is absolutely great and helpful and guides you through this emotional and complex journey safely. From our first visit in their Chicago office to now - 4 years later and awaiting our little miracle who is supposed to come by November - we got to know many helpful and wonderful FSC-members, above all our current case manager: Sarah ❤️"

"Hello Everyone, If I’m being honest, I never imagined I’d have to write this post, but I’m here now to warn all of you who still haven’t chosen an agency. A year and half ago I signed a contract with FSC - Family Source Consultant. I paid a deposit of 20k upon signing and waited patiently for that million dollar match email. And it arrived! After only 3 months they found a match. The surrogate and I had an amazing zoom match call, as if it was meant to be. Per the contract with FSC, my budget for a surrogate was 48k and when I was given her profile prior to the match zoom, it said that her compensation contract with FSC is 58k. I did not notice that and I take full responsibility for it, but from a service-oriented point of view, I’d expect the matching team to point that out prior to the zoom and not after. They did mention the additional 10k compensation right after we both agreed to continue. An hour later, I received a payment request of additional 20k to reserve the surrogate and I did. We began with the usual protocol of having her medical records sent to my clinic and the doctor approved her for carrying twins. We scheduled her for a physical exam and this is where things started going wrong. A week prior to her appointment she had a minor car accident with a minor concussion, so we had to postpone. I completely understood and asked the matching team to send my regards and wish her well. (They refused to share her info and allow me to reach out and check on her, to show her that I care). The next appointment was scheduled for a month later, and was canceled as well since she was diagnosed with COVID. Things happen… I get it. It’s understandable and I just hoped she’d be feeling well. Another appointment was scheduled and just one week before, she called in to report that she may lose her job as well as her surrogacy-friendly insurance. Two minutes later, I already had an email from FSC telling me that I can pay for her insurance, which will be additional 8k for the year, and that was before she even made it to the physical exam. At this point I started to feel that maybe she is not ready… maybe despite the great zoom matching call, she is not the one. I expressed those feelings to FSC and they reassured me that she is very committed to the process. Two weeks later I received an email from FSC saying that she has lost her job and has decided not to continue. In some way I was disappointed but also relieved. That happened on January 2023, about 6 months after the match took place. FSC told me that I will be going back to the search but will be placed at the TOP of the list. It’s been another six months and all I’m getting is a generated “touch base” emails, telling me that there hasn’t been a new match found, but they keep adding surrogates etc… I reached out to FSC and requested my 20k deposit back. The 20k I paid to reserve the first surrogate. They refused and directed me to the contract saying that this fee is non refundable and that the contract that I have is an unlimited match contract. At this point, I have zero trust with FSC and no longer wish to work with them. I am frustrated but not going to let FSC get away with it, let alone stopping me from becoming a Dad."

"This is a difficult review to write. Surrogacy journeys are emotional, and I want to be fair, but honest. We signed with a different agency in June '20. By Sept '21, we had yet to see a profile. When we spoke with our agency, they explained the hardships caused by COVID and that it could take another 12 months to match. Earlier in our journey, we worked with FSC for egg donation and, although that did not work out, we reapproached FSC curious if they could match us faster. We spoke with a Dir. of Client Development (I am not using names) who said that we could expect to see our first profile in 2-3 months. Great! We signed with FSC around Labor Day. Once signed, we were handed to a Case Manager. We expressed how excited we were to see a profile in 2-3 months. She quickly corrected that it would be closer to 4 months; longer than what we were promised before writing FSC a check. In the grand scheme of things, the extra month or two was not a big deal, but it felt like they overpromised simply to get our deposit. Around Christmas, we were shown a profile. The email started with “we have an interesting option for you.” We were told the surrogate had insurance and was willing to carry twins (both requirements), but she was in TN. Were we willing to go to TN? As a gay couple, TN is not high on our list and, if you look at the surrogate map on FSC’s website, you’ll note the TN is risky for surrogacy. FSC suggested maybe the surrogate could give birth in a neighboring state like KY or VA. We had many questions for FSC about LGBT+ surrogacy in TN, KY or VA. They could not answer them, but referred us to attorneys in those states. After speaking with several attorneys, we decided to match. Turns out, our surrogate DID NOT have insurance (WE caught this prior to signing, not FSC), but FSC told us that we could get a policy under the ACA. In Jan '22, FSC sent us our policy: BCBS TN. It looked fine to me. Thank God my husband thought to ask “Can you use a TN policy in KY?” The answer is no, so FSC told us we could get a private policy for $40K. Excuse me? Between the extra $40K and all the legal hurdles we were going to have to overcome in KY, we had had enough and broke our match. I believe FSC presented us with Surrogate A’s profile so they could say they gave us a profile in 4 months as promised, but what a poor match it was. We agreed to match assuming FSC could help us navigate the difficulties of having babies in TN/KY/VA, but all they did was direct us to attorneys, most of whom want a fee before they speak to you. That Surrogate A also needed an ACA policy and FSC was not able to forewarn us about the impossibility of using the ACA if giving birth in another state is stunning. FSC did let us rematch without paying the $10K rematch fee, but I imagine that is because they realized just how poorly they handled our case. We were presented with Surrogate B’s profile in March '22. Her BMI was quite high, but just under our Fertility Clinic’s cut off. It turns out that Surrogate B approached FSC months prior and, with FSC’s help, lost enough weight to be an eligible surrogate at most clinics. We flew Surrogate B across the country for her physical … and her BMI was way over our Fertility Clinic’s cut off. She either never lost the weight she said she did (why didn’t FSC verify this) or regained all the weight she lost in a few weeks’ time (very concerning). FSC asked if we wanted to continue with her. They explained that she could get down to the right weight in several months if she dieted and they would verify her weight loss with weekly photos of the scale. How are we supposed to proceed with her? She was either lying about her weight loss (and I have no trust in her carrying our babies) or she put on an unhealthy amount of weight in a very short time. We broke the match and FSC again agreed to waive the rematch fee. A few weeks later, we stopped working with FSC. The trust was gone. It does not feel like FSC put much care into our journey; just how quickly they could get us to the next step to collect more money."