Surrogacy Agency in Tennessee: Personal Support with Babytree
Looking for a surrogacy agency in Tennessee means finding people who can explain your options, help you prepare, and stay involved as your journey moves forward. At Babytree Surrogacy, we support intended parents and women considering gestational surrogacy with matching, screening coordination, fertility-clinic communication, and legal coordination.
Our Knoxville office manager, Brianna Akins, is your local contact. Whether you are ready to become a parent or still exploring what being a surrogate involves, you can start with a conversation about your circumstances, priorities, and questions.
- For intended parents: Understand matching, your embryo or donor-egg options, and the medical and legal steps ahead.
- For prospective surrogates: Learn about screening, compensation terms, pregnancy commitments, and support throughout the process.
- For both sides: Get a clear explanation of the agency’s role and the decisions that belong with your clinic and attorney.
Meet Your Babytree Contact in Knoxville
Brianna Akins — Knoxville, Tennessee Office Manager
Phone: (865) 851-5202
Email: Brianna@usababytree.com
Office address: 625 S Gay St, Suite 250, Knoxville, TN 37902
Brianna has been a surrogate twice. That personal experience informs her work supporting women through surrogacy and helping intended parents understand the journey. She can explain the next steps with Babytree and help you identify the questions to bring to your medical or legal team.
Contact Brianna before visiting to arrange a time. If you live in Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, or elsewhere in Tennessee, ask about phone or video consultations and which appointments would require travel. Your consultation location does not determine where every medical appointment or the birth will take place; those details need to be planned for your particular arrangement.
Gestational Surrogacy for Intended Parents
Gestational surrogacy allows another woman to carry a pregnancy using an embryo created through in vitro fertilization, or IVF. The embryo may be created with the intended parents’ eggs and sperm, donor eggs, donor sperm, or a combination. A gestational carrier does not provide the egg and is not genetically related to the baby.
This differs from traditional surrogacy, in which the surrogate’s own egg is used. Our surrogacy program focuses on gestational arrangements, with separate medical evaluation and legal planning before treatment proceeds.
People consider this path for different reasons. Some cannot carry a pregnancy because of a medical condition or the absence of a uterus. Others are single intended fathers or same-sex male couples. Infertility alone does not mean surrogacy is the appropriate treatment: your fertility specialist should assess your circumstances and explain the available options.
Matching That Works for Both Sides
We consider the practical and personal details that shape a match: location, communication preferences, expectations during pregnancy, and the relationship each person hopes to have. We share profiles and arrange a meeting or video conversation so intended parents and the prospective surrogate can ask questions directly.
Both sides decide whether to move forward. A promising introduction is not the same as medical clearance or a signed agreement. We coordinate the next steps with your fertility clinic and legal professionals rather than treating a match as the end of the process.
Existing Embryos and Egg Donation
If you already have embryos, tell us which fertility clinic stores them and whether that clinic has reviewed their use with a gestational carrier. Your clinic will explain the records, screening, and any transport arrangements needed before a transfer can be planned.
If you need donor eggs, our egg donation program can be part of your family-building plan. Egg donor selection, medical screening, and embryo creation are separate steps from surrogate matching. We help coordinate those services; your reproductive specialist advises on treatment and the suitability of embryos for transfer.
How the Surrogacy Process Works
Your journey brings together several people with different responsibilities. We coordinate communication and practical arrangements; the fertility clinic directs medical care, and attorneys advise on contracts and parentage. Understanding that distinction helps you know whom to contact when a question arises.
1. Discuss Your Goals and Prepare Your Plan
The first consultation covers your family-building goals or interest in becoming a surrogate, your location, and your questions about the program. Intended parents can discuss whether they have embryos, need an egg donor, or are still choosing a clinic. Prospective surrogates can discuss prior pregnancies, their support system, and appointment availability.
Before committing, ask for the current program terms, an itemized estimate, payment milestones, and an explanation of what is included. Medical treatment and legal work should be planned around your actual circumstances, not a standard promise that every journey will follow the same route.
2. Complete Screening and Confirm the Match
We coordinate records review, medical screening, and psychological evaluation as part of the process. The fertility clinic reviews a prospective carrier’s health and pregnancy history and determines medical suitability. Psychological evaluation gives everyone space to discuss expectations, emotional readiness, and the relationships involved in surrogacy.
Screening is important even when someone has previously had an uncomplicated pregnancy. It helps identify concerns and supports informed decisions, but it cannot remove every risk associated with pregnancy or IVF.
3. Obtain Legal Advice Before Treatment
Intended parents and the surrogate need separate legal advice. Attorneys review the agreement, financial responsibilities, consent, and the steps required to establish legal parentage. We help coordinate the process, but we do not act as your attorney or decide what a court will approve.
Before an embryo transfer cycle begins, the clinic and attorneys should confirm that the necessary medical and legal clearances are in place. This is also the time to resolve questions about insurance, escrow funding, travel, and what happens if treatment needs to be delayed or repeated.
4. Coordinate IVF, Pregnancy, and Delivery
The fertility clinic directs medications, embryo transfer, and early pregnancy monitoring. The treating physician explains the transfer plan, potential risks, and what happens if pregnancy is not achieved. A transfer is not a guarantee of pregnancy or a live birth.
If pregnancy continues, care transitions to the appropriate obstetric provider according to the medical team’s plan. We remain involved in coordination and communication while delivery arrangements and parentage documentation are prepared with the relevant professionals.
For a fuller explanation of our agency workflow, see the Babytree surrogacy process. Ask your coordinator which parts of that general process apply to your Tennessee arrangement.
Tennessee Legal Planning and Parentage
A Tennessee surrogacy arrangement needs case-specific legal planning. The surrogate’s residence, anticipated delivery location, use of donor eggs or sperm, and the intended parents’ circumstances can all raise questions that should be addressed before a match becomes a treatment plan.
Do not assume that signing a surrogacy agreement automatically establishes legal parentage or puts both intended parents on a birth certificate. Ask an attorney experienced in Tennessee assisted reproduction to explain the route available for your family and the documents required before and after delivery.
Questions to Resolve with Your Attorney
- Which state’s laws and which court procedures apply to the arrangement?
- What parentage orders or other legal steps will be needed, and when?
- How do donor eggs, donor sperm, or existing embryos affect the documentation?
- What instructions and documents should the delivery hospital receive?
- How will compensation, expenses, insurance, and unexpected events be addressed?
The intended parents and surrogate should each understand the agreement before signing. Discussions should cover medical consent, communication, privacy, and contingencies without assuming an agency or contract replaces a person’s medical decision-making rights. Your legal and medical professionals should explain those issues together where necessary.
Babytree coordinates with attorneys and medical teams. Legal advice comes from your attorney; treatment recommendations come from your licensed healthcare providers.
Planning Surrogacy Costs in Tennessee
A useful budget is specific to your journey. We do not present a California program example as a guaranteed Tennessee price, and a single advertised total cannot explain every medical, legal, or insurance expense.
Ask for a written, itemized estimate that separates these categories:
- Agency coordination: Program services, matching, payment milestones, and the terms that apply if a match changes.
- Surrogate compensation and reimbursements: Base compensation, allowances, travel, lost wages, and any agreed payments for specific circumstances.
- Fertility treatment: Screening, medications, embryo creation where needed, embryo transfer, and potential additional treatment.
- Donor-related services: Egg or sperm donation costs where applicable, including associated medical and legal work.
- Legal and financial administration: Separate attorneys, parentage work, court fees where applicable, and escrow management.
- Insurance and delivery: Coverage review, premiums, exclusions, out-of-pocket costs, and the baby’s coverage after birth.
Travel can also affect your budget. Discuss where screening, embryo transfer, pregnancy monitoring, and delivery would take place, particularly if your clinic or surrogate is outside Tennessee.
Before signing, clarify who pays each expense, when funds are due, and which costs fall outside the quoted program. Ask how the estimate changes if another transfer is needed or pregnancy brings additional care. Understanding those possibilities is more useful than relying on a price that assumes everything happens exactly as planned.
Becoming a Surrogate in Tennessee
If you are considering becoming a gestational surrogate, start by discussing your location and health history with our team. We will explain the intake process and whether the current program can accommodate your circumstances before you make commitments or plan travel.
Medical screening considers prior pregnancies and deliveries, overall health, medications, and factors that could affect another pregnancy. Psychological evaluation addresses emotional readiness, your support network, communication with intended parents, and expectations after delivery. The treating clinic determines medical eligibility; contacting the agency or submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance.
Pregnancy and surrogacy involve real physical and emotional commitments. Ask how appointment travel, work, childcare, and recovery would fit into your life. Your medical team should discuss pregnancy risks and the proposed treatment before you consent.
You should also have your own attorney to review compensation, reimbursements, medical expenses, insurance, and the agreement’s contingencies. Babytree’s program provides for the surrogate’s independent legal representation to be paid by the intended parents. Your compensation and expense terms should be documented rather than left as verbal assurances.
You can apply to become a surrogate to begin the conversation. Let your coordinator know that you live in Tennessee so the program, clinic, and legal considerations are addressed from the start.
Tennessee Surrogacy FAQ
Does Babytree have a Tennessee contact?
Yes. Our Knoxville office manager is Brianna Akins. You can reach her at (865) 851-5202 or Brianna@usababytree.com. The office address is 625 S Gay St, Suite 250, Knoxville, TN 37902. Contact Brianna before visiting to arrange a time.
Can I use embryos I already have?
Existing embryos may be part of your plan. Your fertility clinic needs to review their suitability for transfer to a gestational carrier, along with the relevant medical records and screening requirements. Tell us where your embryos are stored so coordination can begin with the appropriate clinic.
Is the gestational surrogate genetically related to the baby?
No. In gestational surrogacy, the carrier does not provide the egg. The embryo is created using eggs and sperm from intended parents, donors, or a combination. Traditional surrogacy uses the surrogate’s own egg and is a different arrangement.
Can you guarantee a Tennessee pre-birth order?
No. The parentage process depends on the facts of the arrangement and the applicable law and court procedures. An attorney experienced in Tennessee assisted reproduction should advise on the available route, timing, and any steps required after birth. Agency coordination is not a guarantee of a court outcome.
How much does surrogacy cost in Tennessee?
Costs depend on program terms, surrogate compensation, fertility treatment, donor services if needed, legal work, insurance, and travel. Ask for an itemized estimate for your circumstances and clarification of expenses outside the quoted program. We do not publish a guaranteed Tennessee total on this page.
Do all appointments take place in Knoxville?
Not necessarily. Clinic visits, embryo transfer, monitoring, and delivery need to be planned around the medical team, surrogate’s location, and legal requirements. Ask your coordinator which appointments can be handled locally and which may require travel before making arrangements.
How long does the process take?
Timing depends on matching, screening, embryo readiness, legal preparation, treatment, and pregnancy. Additional transfers or changes to the plan can extend the journey. We will discuss the stages relevant to you, but a consultation or match does not guarantee a delivery date.
Start with a Conversation About Your Next Step
You do not need to have every answer before contacting us. Intended parents can start with their fertility history, embryo plans, and questions about costs. Prospective surrogates can start with questions about screening, the pregnancy commitment, and how the program would work for a Tennessee resident.
Call Brianna Akins at (865) 851-5202 or email Brianna@usababytree.com. We will help you understand the next step with Babytree and the questions to discuss with your clinic or attorney.
This page provides general information, not individualized medical or legal advice.
Medical background: ASRM guidance on gestational carriers.